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iiii 


iiililiT''' 
'ii'iiiii 


!     !   !   ', 


'lllHIIIIll!' 


* * 


First  Edition fullished  iS-j2 

Second  Edition         ....  ,,         iSgy 

New  and  Revised  Edition,  i6  vols.  ,,         ^9^4 


* ^ 


DEATH  AND  ASSUMPTION   OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN. 

After  Andrea  Orcagna's  Bas-relief  Tabernacle,  XlVth  Century,  in  the  Church  of 

San  Michele  at  Florence. 


Aug.,  Frontispiece.] 


THE 


3Lit)e0  of  tf)f  g>aint0 


BY   THE 

REV.  S.  BARING-GOULD,  M.A. 


With   Introduction  and  Additional   Lives  of  English 

Martyrs,  Cornish,  Scottish,  and  Welsh  Saints, 

and  a  full  Index  to  the  Entire  Work 


New  and  Revised  Edition 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  473  ENGRAVINGS 


EDINBURGH:    JOHN    GRANT 

31    GEORGE    IV   BRIDGE 

1914 


(U — — * 


3x 

S3 


Printed  by  Ballantvne,  Hanson  &>  Co. 
at  the  Ballantync  Press,  Edinburgh 


* ^ ^ 


*- 


-^ 


CONTENTS 


A 

PAGE 

SS.  Abundiiis   and    Ire- 

naeus 314 

S.  Acca      .....     80 

SS.  Adaiictus  and  Felix    383 

S.  Afra 59 

„  Agapetus    .     .     .     .162 

SS.  Agapius  and  comp.     179 

S.  Aidan 391 

„  Alexander .  .  .  .315 
,,  Almedha  ....  6 
„  Alphonso  Liguori  .  21 
B.  Altmann  of  Passau  .  102 
S.  Alypius  of  Tagaste  .  144 
,,  Andrew  the  Tribune  177 

SS.  Anicetus  and   Pho- 

tius 115 

„  Anthusa  and  Atha- 

nasius     ....  232 

Apparition  of  the  Cross, 

The 180 


PAGE 

SS.  ApollinarisandTim- 

othy 243 

S.  Aristarchus     ...     34 
„  Arsacius     .     .     .     .150 

,,   Aspren 24 

Assumption     of     the 

B.V.M.,  The  .     .141 
SS.  Asterius  and  comp.    238 
„  Athanasius  and  An- 
thusa     ....  232 
S.  Augustine  of  Hippo  351 

B 

S.  Bartholomew,  A  p.  .  253 
SS.  Bassa  and  Sons  .     .  223 

S.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  196 
SS.  Bernard    de    Alzira 

and  comp.  .     .     .  226 

S.  Blane  of  Bute     .     .112 
SS.  Boniface  and  comp.  159 


*- 


-* 


*- 


-^ 


VI 


Contents 


SS.  Bonosus  and  Maxi- 
milian    .... 
S.  Brej^win,     Abp.     of 
Canterbury     .     . 


ii6 


C 

S.  Cfesarius  of  Aries    .  343 

„   Cajetan 87 

SS.  Camerinus      and 

comp 221 

S.  Cassian      ....   130 
SS.  Charitas  and  comp.        4 
„  Chromatius  and  Ti- 

burtius   .     .     .     .113 
„  Cisellus  and  comp. .  221 

S.  Clara 120 

„  Claudia 82 

SS.  Claudius,    Asterius, 

and  comp.  .     .     .  238 

S.  Cledog 181 

„  Concordia  and  Hip- 

polytus  .     .     .     .127 

Cross,  Apparition  of  the,  180 

S.  Cuthberga  ....  400 

SS.  Cyra  and  Marana    .     28 

„  Cyriacus,       Largus, 

and  Smaragdus  .     98 


D 

S.  Dalmatius  . 
„  Decuman  . 
„  Diomede  . 
„  Dominic     . 


25 

345 
149 

40 


S.  Eanswitha.  .  .  .  389 

,,  Ebba 280 

„  Eleutherius  ...  34 
„  Eogain  of  Ardstraw  251 
„  Etheldritha  ...  19 
„  Ethehvold,     B.      of 

Winchester     .     .       8 


S.  Euplius 116 

„  Eutyches    .     .     .     .261 


S.  Fachnan 
,,   Fedlimid 


.     .     .  140 
.     .     .   106 

Felix 5 

SS.  Felix  and  Adauctus   383 

S.  Fiacre 384 

SS.  Fides,  Spes,  Chari- 
tas, and  Sapientia       4 


S.  Genes,  M.  at  Rome  267 
,,   Genes,  INI.  at  Aries  .  270 
SS.  Gratia  and  comp.    .  226 
„   Gregory,    Julian, 

Mar)%  and  comp.  107 
S.  Gunifortis  ....  235 

H 

S.  Helena,  Empress     .   164 
„   Hippolytus,     B.    of 

Porto      ....  233 
SS.  Hippolytus  and  Con- 
cordia    .     .     .     .127 
S.  Hormisdas,  M.    .     .     99 
„   Hormisdas,  Pope    .     78 
„   Hyacinth    .     .     .     .151 


SS. 


I 

la  and  others      .     . 
Irenteus  and  Abun- 

dius 

Irene,  Empress  .     . 

J 


3 '4 
134 


160 


S.  James,  Deacon  . 

„  JuHus 175 

SS.  Julian  and  comp.     .   107 
S.  Justinian    ....  250 


*- 


* 


Contents 


Vll 


K 


S.  Keneth 


PAGE 


S.  Laurence    ....  109 
SS.  Liberatus,  Boniface, 

and  comp.  .     .     .159 

S.  Louis,  B.  of  Toulouse  185 

„  Louis 284 

SS.  Luxorius,     Cisellus, 

and  Camerinus    .  221 

S.  Lydia 24 

SS.  Largus  and  comp.  .  98 


M 

Maccarthen    .     .     .148 
Maelrubha      .     .     .  346 
Magnus      .     .     .     .176 
Malchus,  B.  of  Lis- 
more 112 


SS 


Mammas    .... 

Marana  and  Cyra   . 

vS.  Marcellus,  Bp.    .     . 

SS.  Marcellus,       Mam- 

maea,  and  comp. . 

S.  Marinus     .... 

„   Mary  and  comp. 

„  Mary  of  the  Snows 

„  Mennas,     Patr.     of 

Constantinople    . 

,,  Mochteus  of  Louth , 

„  Molua  of  Clonfert   . 

„   Movses  the   Ethio- 


158 
28 


pian  . 
Muredach 


N 


Name  of  Jesus,  The  . 
S.  Nathy       .... 


lOI 

107 
62 

271 

182 

37 

348 
118 


82 

107 


I 


O 

PAGE 

S.  Oswald,  King     .     .     63 

„  Oswin 192 

„  Ouen,  B.  of  Rouen  .  263 


S.  Paulinus  of  Treves  . 

„    Peter  ad  V'incula     . 

„   Peter  of  Kieff     .     . 

„   Philip  Beniti  .     .     . 

„   Philomena      .     .     . 

SS.  Photius     and    Ani- 

cetus 

S.  Poemen  .... 
SS.  Porcarius  and  comp. 


387 
I 

264 


III 


11: 


119 


R 

Radegund,  Queen  .  130 
Radegund,  V.  .  .136 
Raymund  Nonnatus  401 

Roch 155 

Romanus   .     .     .     .106 

Ronald 215 

Rose  of  Lima  .  .  316 
Rutilius 18 


SS.  Sapientia  and  comp.       4 

B.  Schetzelo      ....     81 

S.  Sebaldus    .     .     .     .183 

„  Sebbi 380 

„   Sidonius  Apollinaris  244 
„   Sixtus  II.,  Pope.     .     75 
SS.  Smaragdus      and 

comp 98 

„  Spes  and  comp.  .  ,  4 
S.  Stephen  I.,  Pope  .  16 
„  Susanna  .  .  .  .114 
„   Symphorian    .     .     .  230 


^-^ 


*- 


-* 


viil 


Contents 


S.  Tharsicius .... 
„  Theodota  .     .     .     . 
S.S.  Tiburtius  and  Chro- 
matins   .     .     .     . 
„  Timothy  and  Apol- 
linaris     .     .     .     . 
„  Thecla  and  comp.  , 
„  Timothy,       Thecla, 
and  Agapius  .     . 
TransfiiJ^uration    of    our 
Lord,  The  .     .     . 


W 

PAGE 

U3 

S.  Waltheof  .     . 

•          • 

PAGE 

29 

iS 

„  Werenfried     . 

•          • 

347 

White  Mass,  The 

•          • 

261 

113 

Y 

243 

S.  Yarcard      .     , 

•          • 

262 

179 

Z 

179 

S,  Zacchaeus  of  Jerusa- 

lem   .     .     . 

•          • 

237 

75 

„   Zephyrinus,  Pi 

")pe    . 

311 

*- 


— * 


*- 


-* 


LIST    OF     ILLUSTRATIONS 


Death  and  Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin 

After  Andrea  Orcagna's  Bas-relief  Taber- 
nacle, Fourteenth  Century,  in  the  Church  of 
San  Michele,  at  Florence. 


Frontispiece 


Iron  Chain  supposed  to  have  been  made 

BV  S.  Ethelwold to  face  p.  14 


S.  Alphonso  Liguori 

After  Cahier. 


22 


S.  Dominic 


S.  Dominic  waited  upon  by  Angels  . 

After    the    Painting    by    FrA    Angelico    DA 
FlESOLE. 


»  40 

50 


The  Transfiguration  . 

From  the  Vienna  Missal. 


74 


Monograms  of  the  Sacred  Name  of 
Jesus  Christ— xpistos  .... 

S.  Albert  of  Sicily       .        .        . 
^//^r  Cahier. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  receiving  the 
Announcement  of  her  approaching 
Dissolution 

After  a  Bas-relief  by  Orcagna. 
vol.  IX.  ix 


82 

86 


on  p.  105 
b 


*- 


-1^ 


* — _— 

X  List  of  Illustrations 

S.  Laurence to  face  p.  no 

S.  Clara ,,120 

After  Cahiek. 


-* 


The  Last  Moments  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
ViMVi 

After  a  Picture  by  QuiNTiN   Matsys    in    the 
Antwerp  Museum. 

The    Blessed    Virgin    on    the    Bed    of 
Death 


S.  Roch     . 

After  Cahier. 


136 


138 


After  ALSE.WI  Durer. 
Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ALvry  „        140 

Funeral  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  .  „        142 

After  a  Picture  by  Mantegna  ?«  the  Madrid 
Museum. 

From    the   Office   of    the    Assumption 

OF  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary      .        .  „        144 

In  the  Vienna  Missal. 

The  Virgin  Crowned  by  the  Father 
Eternal— AT  the  Foot  S.  John,  S. 
Augustine,  S.  Jerome,  and  S.  Eloi    .  „        146 

From  a  Picture  by  S.  BoTlCELLi  in  the  Academy 
des  Beaux-Arts,  Flqrence. 

S.  Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Soissons  ...  „        148 

After  Cahier. 


154 


Tailpiece.        .       .       ,       ,       ,       „       .       .  ^«/.  148 


*- 


-»J« 


-* 


List  of  Illustrations 


XI 


Finding    of    the    Cross    by    S.    Helena 

{seep.  170) on  p. 


S.  Helena,  Empress       .  ... 

After  Holbein. 

S.  Sebald  making  a  Fire  from  Icicles    . 

After  a  Relief  oti  the  Tomb  of  S.  Sebald,  by 
Peter  Vischek  and  his  Sons,  in  the  Church 
of  S.  Sebald  at  Nuremberg. 


S    Radegund,   Wife  of   King   Clothair, 

RECEIVING     THE     RELIGIOUS     HABIT     AT 

THE  Hands  of  S.  Medard,  Bishop  of 
NOVON 


S.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux    .... 

After  Cahier. 

The  Vision  of  S.  Bf.rnard — The  Blessed 
Virgin  appearing  to  S.  Bernard  and 
relating  her  History  .... 

After  FiLii'i'iNO  LiPi'l. 

B.  Bernard  Ptolemy     

After  Cahier. 

S.  Peter,  Apostle 

Zacch^us  in  Tree 


S.  Philip  Beniti     . 

After  Qhuw.v.. 


S.  Bartholomew    .... 

From  the  Vienna  Missal. 

Church  of  S.  Ouen  at  Rouen  . 
Coronation  of  S.  Louis  at  Reims 


161 
to  face  p.  164 

184 


.    oil  p. 
to  face  p. 


191 


200 


.    on  p. 
to  face  p. 


208 
228 
229 

-5- 
256 

262 

284 


*- 


-^ 


S.  Louis,  ON  HIS  Accession  to  thk  Throne, 

OPENING     THE     GATES     OF     THE      PARIS 

Prisons to  face  p.  286 

From  a  Picture  by  M.  Meison. 


S.  Louis  under  Discipline;  S.  Louis  Feed- 
ing THE  Leper 


From  a  Window  iti  the  Abbey  of  S.  Denis,  Four- 
teenth Century. 

S.  Louis  on  his  Knees  before  Christ  and 
THE  Blessed  Virgin       .... 

S.  Louis  Burying  the  Decomposed  Bodies 
OK  Crusaders 

From   a   Mural    Painting   by   L.    Matout    at 
S.  Sulpice,  Paris. 

Enamelled  Shrine  of  S.  Louis  . 

Tomb  of  Louis,  eldest  Son  of  S.  Louis, 
died  1260  


288 


290 

296 

308 
308 


S.  Rose  of  Lima     . 
After  Cahier. 


S.  Augustine 

After  Cahier. 
Funeral  of  S.  Augustine   .        .        .        . 

After  Benozzo  Gozzoli   in   the  Church  of  S. 
Aupustine  at  San  Gemii'nano. 


«        352 
„        378 


■S.  Antony  the  Great  {Jan.  17) 
Tailpiece 


Tailpiece  .... 

S.  Raymund  Nonnatus. 
After  Cahier. 


.    on  p.  379 

.        „     382 

.       „     386 

to  face  p.  400 


*- 


* — * 


Lives  of  the  Saints 


August  1. 

SS.   Eleazar,   the  Seven   Maccabees  and  their  Mother,  at 

Antioch,  B.C.  i66  (2  Mace.  vi.  vii.) 
S.  Peter  ad  Vincula. 
SS.  Fides,  Spes,  and  Charitas,  VV.  MM.,  and  Sapibntia,  M. 

at  Rome. 
S.  Felix,  M.  at  Gerona  in  Catalonia  ;  circ.  a.d.  303. 
S.  Justin,  Boy  M.  at  Paris. 

S,  JuSTA,  V.  M.  at  Aquila  in  Italy  ;  circ.  a.d.  304. 
SS.  FicARDUs  AND  Secundelius,  HH.,  at  Nautes ;  6th  cent. 
S.  Bandaridus,  B.  o/Soissons;  6th  cent. 
S.  Keneth,  H.  in  Gower;  6th  cent. 
S.  Almedha,  V.  M.  at  Brecknock  ;  6th  cent. 
S.  Ethelwold,  B.  of  Winchester  ;  a.d.  984. 

S.  PETER  AD  VINCULA. 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Bede,  Usuardus,  Hrabanus,  Nothes,  &c.,  Anglican 
reformed  Kalendar.  In  the  Roman,  "At  Rome,  on  the  Esquiline,  the 
dedication  of  S.  Peter  ad  Vincula."     In  the  Anglican  "Lammas  Day."] 

iJHE  name  ot  this  holy  day,  Lammas,  is  a  corruption 

of  Loafmass — a  feast  of  thanksgiving  for  the  first 

fruits  of  the  harvest,  annually  observed  in  England 

at  the  beginning  of  August.     Bread  made  of  the 

new  wheat  was  offered  at  mass  on  this  day,  and  was  solemnly 

blessed;    and  hence,  in  many  parts  of  England,   tenants 

were  bound  to  bring  in  new  wheat  of  the  year  to  their  lords, 

on  or  before  the  ist  August. 

The  blessing  of  new  fruits  was  performed  annually  in  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Churches  on  the  ist,  and  sometimes 
on  the  6th  of  August.  It  is  mentioned  on  the  latter  day  in 
the  Sacramentary  of  S.  Gregory. 

In  the  5th  cent,  a  church  was  dedicated  to  S.  Peter  ad 
"Vincula  on  the  Esquiline  hill  at  Rome,  on  this  day ;  and 

VOL.  IX.  I 


*- 


2 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  I. 


-* 


hence  the  festival  of  S.  Peter's  delivery  from  prison,  and  the 
breaking  off  of  his  chains,  was  kept  upon  it,  though  the 
event  happened  shortly  after  Easter.  The  account  of  the 
deliverance  of  S.  Peter  is  thus  recorded  by  S.  Luke  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  : — 

♦'  Now  about  that  time  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth 
his  hands  to  vex  certain  of  the  Church. 

"  And  he  killed  James  the  brother  of  John  with  the 
sword. 

"  And  because  he  saw  it  pleased  the  Jews,  he  proceeded 
further  to  take  Peter  also.  (Then  were  the  days  of  un- 
leavened bread.) 

"  And  when  he  had  apprehended  him,  he  put  him  in  prison, 
and  delivered  him  to  four  quaternions  of  soldiers  to  keep 
him  ;  intending  after  Easter  to  bring  him  forth  to  the  people. 

"  Peter  therefore  was  kept  in  prison :  but  prayer  was 
made  without  ceasing  of  the  Church  unto  God  for  him. 

"  And  when  Herod  would  have  brought  him  forth,  the 
same  night  Peter  was  sleeping  between  two  soldiers,  bound 
with  two  chains  ;  and  the  keepers  before  the  door  kept  the 
prison. 

"  And,  behold,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him, 
and  a  light  shined  in  the  prison :  and  he  smote  Peter  on 
the  side,  and  raised  him  up,  saying.  Arise  up  quickly.  And 
his  chains  fell  off  from  his  hands. 

"  And  the  angel  said  unto  him.  Gird  thyself,  and  bind  on 
thy  sandals.  And  so  he  did.  And  he  saith  unto  him, 
Cast  thy  garment  about  thee,  and  follow  me. 

*'  And  he  went  out,  and  followed  him  ;  and  wist  not  that 
it  was  true  which  was  done  by  the  angel ;  but  thought  he 
saw  a  vision. 

"  When  they  were  past  the  first  and  second  ward,  they 
came  unto  the  iron  gate  that  leadeth  unto  the  city  ;  which 
opened  to  them  of  his  own  accord  :  and  they  went  out,  and 


*■ 


-* 


August  1.J 


^S*.  Peter  ad  Vinctda. 


passed  on  through  one  street ;  and  forthwith  the  angel 
departed  from  him. 

"  And  when  Peter  was  come  to  himself,  he  said,  Now  I 
know  of  a  surety,  that  the  Lord  hath  sent  his  angel,  and 
hath  delivered  me  out  of  the  hand  of  Herod,  and  from  all 
the  expectation  of  the  people  of  the  Jews. 

"  And  when  he  had  considered  the  thing,  he  came  to  the 
house  of  Mary  the  mother  of  John,  whose  surname  was 
Mark  ;  where  many  were  gathered  together  praying. 

"  And  as  Peter  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  gate,  a  damsel 
came  to  hearken,  named  Rhoda. 

"  And  when  she  knew  Peter's  voice,  she  opened  not  the 
gate  for  gladness,  but  ran  in,  and  told  how  Peter  stood 
before  the  gate. 

"  And  they  said  unto  her,  Thou  art  mad.  But  she  con- 
stantly affirmed  that  it  was  even  so.  Then  said  they,  It  is 
his  angel. 

"  But  Peter  continued  knocking :  and  when  they  had 
opened  the  door,  and  saw  him,  they  were  astonished. 

"  But  he,  beckoning  unto  them  with  the  hand  to  hold 
their  peace,  declared  unto  them  how  the  Lord  had  brought 
him  out  of  the  prison.  And  he  said.  Go  shew  these  things 
unto  James,  and  to  the  brethren.  And  he  departed,  and 
went  into  another  place. 

"  Now  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  there  was  no  small  stir 
among  the  soldiers,  what  was  become  of  Peter. 

"  And  when  Herod  had  sought  for  him,  and  found  him 
not,  he  examined  the  keepers,  and  commanded  that  they 
should  be  put  to  death.  And  he  went  down  from  Judjea 
to  Csesarea,  and  there  abode." 


1 — » 


4  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  x. 

SS.  FIDES,  SPES,  CHARITAS,  VV.,  MM., 

AND  SAPIENTIA,  W.M. 

(date  uncertain.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Usuardus  and  Notker  are  the  first  to  Insert  these 
Saints  in  their  Latin  Martyrologies.  By  the  Greeks  on  Sept.  17  ;  also  by 
the  Russians  on  the  same  day.  The  names  in  Greek  are  Pistis,  Elpis, 
Agape,  and  their  mother  Sophia.] 

Justinian  built  at  Constantinople  a  church,  which  he 
dedicated  to  the  Eternal  Wisdom  (Sophia).  The  Hagia 
Sophia  was  vulgarly  supposed  to  be  a  female  saint,  and 
as  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  are  the  fruit  or  offspring  of 
Wisdom,  it  was  fabled  that  Wisdom  had  three  daughters. 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.  Thus  sprang  up  among  the 
ignorant  a  supposition  that  there  had  been  once  a  saintly 
woman  named  Sophia,  who  had  three  virgin  daughters 
named  Pistis,  Elpis,  and  Agape.  That  they  were  martyr 
virgins  was  the  next  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  myth,  and 
some  sarcastic  joke  that  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  were  dead 
and  buried  in  Rome  led  next  to  the  locaHzation  o^  their 
martyrdom.  Hrabanus  and  Notker,  finding  these  saints  in 
the  Constantinopolitan  kalendar,  introduced  them  into  the 
West,  and  from  these  martyrologies  the  saints  found  their 
way  into  all  other  Latin  menologies.  The  bones  of  Wisdom 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  are  shown  in  the  churches  of  S. 
Peter  and  S.  Sylvester  at  Rome,  the  head  of  Hope  is  at 
Paderborn,  some  bones  in  the  Escurial.  But  the  bodies 
were  also  shown  before  the  Revolution  in  the  church  of  S. 
Marie  at  Viganne,  in  the  diocese  of  Cahors.  Other  bodies 
are  shown  in  a  church  dedicated  to  them  and  S.  Julia  at 
Brescia,  translated  in  1600. 

According  to  the  legend,  S.  Sapientia  (Sophia)  was  a 
widow.  Her  daughters.  Fides,  Spes,  and  Charitas,  were 
summoned  before  Antiochus,  prefect  of  Rome,  in  the  reign 


*- 


August  I.J 


.S*.  Felix. 


of  Hadrian/  Faith,  aged  twelve,  was  beaten,  thrown  into 
molten  pitch,  and  decapitated.  Hope  was' cast  into  a 
furnace,  but,  being  unhurt  by  the  flames,  was  also  executed 
with  the  sword.  The  same  happened  to  Charity.  Last  of 
all  the  mother,  Wisdom,  was  executed. 


S.  FELIX,  M. 

(a.d.  303.) 

[Roman  and  Spanish  Martyrologies.     Authorities : — Same  as  those  for 
S.  Cucuphas,  July  25.] 

Felix  and  Cucuphas,  two  African  Christians,  of  good 
family,  and  in  easy  circumstances,  left  their  native  land  on 
board  a  trading  vessel,  which  they  had  laden  with  wares,  in 
hopes  of  escaping  the  persecution  raging  at  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Diocletian,  by  following  the  vocation  of  merchants, 
and  avoiding  such  places  as  were  suffering  most  severely 
from  cruel  and  zealous  magistrates.  On  reaching  Barcelona, 
they  were  arrested  and  led  before  the  Governor,  Dacian ; 
S.  Cucuphas  suffered  at  Barcelona,  but  Felix  was  conducted 
to  Gerona,  where,  having  refused  to  adore  idols,  he  was 
tortured  and  executed. 

Modern  hagiographers,  dissatisfied  with  the  statement 
that  Cucuphas  and  Felix  endeavoured  to  elude  persecution, 
assert  that  in  their  eagerness  to  gain  the  crown  of  martyrdom 
they  sailed  from  Mauritania  to  Spain,  impatient  at  the 
sluggishness  with  which  the  Christians  were  being  despatched 
in  Africa.  If  this  were  so,  why  the  merchandize  with  which 
their  ship  was  freighted  ? 

*  It  is  needless  to  »4y  there  was  oo  prefect  of  that  name  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian. 


-* 


»J^ ^ 

6  Lives  of  the  Saints.  j^ugust  i. 


S.  KENETH,  H. 
(6th  cent.) 

[Wilson  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology.  The  BoUandists.  Authority  : — The 
Legend  in  Capgrave.] 

S.  Keneth  was  a  hermit  who  lived  in  Gower.  A  wild 
legend  of  his  childhood  is  told  by  Capgrave,  of  no  historical 
value.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Welsh  prince,  bom  in  sin,  and 
cast  out  when  born  in  an  osier  coracle  on  the  waves  to  be 
drifted  away  where  God  willed.  The  seagulls  fluttered 
round  him,  raised  the  babe  with  their  claws  and  beaks,  and 
bore  him  to  a  ledge  of  rock,  where  they  made  a  bed  for 
him  of  the  feathers  from  their  breasts.  Nine  days  after,  an 
angel  brought  a  brazen  bell  for  him  to  suck  out  of,  and 
every  day  a  forest  doe  came  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  and 
spurted  milk  into  the  bell. 

A  shepherd  found  the  infant,  and  bore  him  to  his  home ; 
but  a  flight  of  seagulls  followed,  and,  swooping  down  on 
the  crib  in  which  the  shepherd  had  laid  the  child,  flew 
away  with  the  little  Keneth,  and  bore  him  back  to  the 
ledge  of  rock  over  the  thundering  Atlantic. 

Thus  grew  up  Keneth.  But  he  was  always  deformed, 
having  one  leg  bent  up  so  that  the  calf  adhered  to  his  thigh. 

He  lived  till  his  death,  revered  by  all,  on  the  storm-beaten 
rocks  of  the  Peninsula  of  Gower,  the  associate  of  seagulls 
and  forest  deer. 


S.  ALMEDHA,  V.M. 

(6th  cent.) 

[Wilson's  Anglican  Martyrology.     Authority  :— Giraldus  Canibrensis,  in 
his  Itinerary ;  and  the  Cognitio  Brychani.] 

Brychan,  son  of  Awlach  Mac-Gormuc,  an  Irish  prince, 
was  brought,  at  an  early  age,  to  Britain  by  his  parents,  who 
took  up  their  residence  at  Benne  (Gaer,  upon  the  banks  of 

* ^ 


■© 


August  i.l 


S.  Ahnedha, 


the  river  Isgeer,  near  Brecknock),  and  became  King   of 
Garthmathrin,  in  Wales,  in  right  of  his  motlier,  Marchell, 
daughter  of  Tydor,   Prince  of  Garthmathrin.     He  changed 
the  name  of  his  principality  into  Brecknock.     He  was  a 
distinguished  character  in  the  history  of  Wales,  as  being  the 
father  of  a  very  numerous  issue,  which  came  to  be  styled 
one  of  the  three  holy  families  of  Britain ;  for  nearly  all  his 
children  embraced  the  religious  life,  and  became  founders 
of   churches.     S.   Almedha,   though   not   included   in   the 
ordinary  lists  of  his  children,  is  said  to  have  been  a  daughter 
of  King  Brychan,  and  sister  of  S.  Canoe.     She  was  probably 
a  granddaughter.     Her  real  name  was  Eiyned,  or  Aled, 
which  has  been  Latinized  into  Almedha.    The  Welsh  genea- 
logists say   that   she   suflfered  martyrdom   on   a  hill   near 
Brecknock,  having  been  massacred  by  the  heathen  Saxons. 
A  chapel  was  erected  to  her  memory  on  the  site  of  her 
martyrdom.     Mr.  Hugh  Thom.as,  who  wrote  an  essay  on 
the  history  of  Brecknockshire  in  1698,  says  that  the  chapel 
was  still  standing,  but   roofless,  in  his  time;    the   people 
thereabouts  called  it  S.  Tayled  {i.e.,  Saint  Ayled).     It  was 
situated  on  an  eminence,  about  a  mile  to  the  east  of  Breck- 
nock, and  about  half  a  mile  from  a  farmhouse,  formerly  the 
mansion  and  residence  of  the  Aubreys.     Some  vestiges  of 
this  building  may  still  be  traced,  and  an  aged  yew  tree,  with 
a  well  at  its  foot,  marks  the  site. 

Giraldus  says,  "  In  her  honour  a  solemn  feast  is  annually 
held  here  in  the  beginning  of  August,  and  attended  by  a 
large  concourse  of  people  from  a  considerable  distance, 
when  those  persons  who  labour  under  various  diseases, 
through  the  merits  of  this  blessed  Virgin,  receive  their 
wished-for  health.  The  circumstances  which  occur  at  every 
anniversary,  appear  to  me  remarkable.  You  may  see  men 
or  girls,  now  in  the  church,  now  in  the  churchyard,  now  in 
the  dance,  which  is  led  round  the  churchyard  with  a  song, 


*- 


"►r 


8  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  i 

on  a  sudden  falling  on  the  ground  in  a  fit,  then  jumping 
up  as  in  a  frenzy,  and  representing  with  their  hands  and 
feet,  before  the  people,  whatever  work  they  have  unlawfully 
done  on  feast  days ;  you  may  see  one  man  put  his  hand  to 
the  plough,  and  another,  as  it  were,  goad  on  the  oxen, 
mitigating  their  sense  of  labour  by  the  usual  rude  song  ;  one 
man  imitating  the  profession  of  a  shoemaker ;  another,  that 
of  a  tanner.  You  may  see  a  girl  with  a  distaff,  drawing  out 
the  thread,  and  windmg  it  again  on  the  spindle ;  another 
walking,  and  arranging  the  threads  for  the  web ;  another,  as 
it  were,  throwing  the  shuttle,  and  seeming  to  weave.  On 
being  brought  into  the  church,  and  led  up  to  the  altar  with 
their  oblations,  you  will  be  astonished  to  see  them  suddenly 
awakened,  and  coming  to  themselves.  Thus,  by  the  divine 
mercy,  which  rejoices  in  the  conversion — not  in  the  death — 
of  sinners,  many  persons,  from  the  conviction  of  their 
senses,  are  at  these  feast  days  corrected  and  amended." 


S.  ETHELWOLD,  B.  OF  WINCHESTER. 

(a.d.  984.) 

[Found  in  post-mediasval  Martyrologies.  In  an  Anglican  Kalendar,  pub- 
lished by  Martene  T.  VI.,  Wilson,  Menardus,  Wyon,  Greven,  Molanus,  the 
Bollandists,  a  Mass  in  honour  of  S.  Ethelwold  is  published  by  Mabillon,  and 
the  Bollandists.  Authority : — A  life  by  Wulstan,  Abbot  of  Winchester,  a 
contemporary,  d.  990,  "in  Latin  prose,  in  a  style  below  mediocrity," 
Wright,  but  interesting,  and  thoroughly  trustworthy.  Also,  William  of 
Malmesbury,  "  De  Pontif.  Anglic."] 

Ethelwold,  or  Ethelwald,  whom  his  contemporaries  and 
followers  designated  as  the  "  father  of  monks,"  was  a  native 
of  Winchester,  the  son  of  a  noble  citizen  of  that  place. 
He  was  born  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Elder,  and,  there- 
fore, not  later  than  the  year  925 ;  and  was  trained  to 
learning  from  his  childhood. 

While  very  young  he  was  taken  to  court,  and  his  talents 

4, ^ 


•ii 


August  I.] 


6*.  Ethelwold. 


and  many  good  qualities  obtained  for  him  the  favour  of  King 
Athelstan,  and  of  the  learned  men  who  enjo'yed  the  favour 
of  that  monarch.  He  received  the  tonsure  at  the  hand  of 
Alphege  the  Bald,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 

Ethelwold  appears  to  have  been  nearly  of  the  same  age 
as  Dunstan ;  they  were  ordained  to  the  priesthood  at  the 
same  time  ;  and  when  Dunstan  became  abbot  of  Glaston- 
bury, towards  943,  Ethelwold  took  the  monastic  habit,  and 
became  the  companion  ot  his  studies  and  of  his  counsels. 
He  then  qualified  himself  as  a  grammarian  and  poet,  entered 
eagerly  into  the  deepest  mysteries  of  theology ;  and  pro- 
bably followed  all  the  various  pursuits  in  the  arts  and 
sciences,  to  which  Dunstan  showed  so  much  attachment. 
Ethelwold  is  said  to  have  been  an  ingenious  mechanic,  and 
an  early  A\Titer  of  the  abbey  of  Abingdon  mentions  two 
bells  which  he  made  with  his  own  hands. 

Ethelwold  remained  but  a  few  years  at  Glastonbury,  for 
before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Edred,  who  died  in  955,  he 
was  seized  with  the  desire  of  visiting  France,  and  of  per- 
fecting himself  in  learning  and  monastic  discipline  in  the 
schools  and  monasteries  which  flourished  in  that  country. 
But  the  queen-mother,  Edgiva,  a  woman  of  great  piety, 
represented  to  King  Edred  the  loss  his  kingdom  would  sus- 
tain if  he  allowed  such  an  eminent  monk  to  leave  it ;  and 
when  Ethelwold  applied  for  leave  to  travel,  he  met  with  a 
refusal. 

As  an  excuse  for  retaining  him  in  England,  the  king  gave 
him  the  abbey  of  Abingdon,  in  Berkshire,  a  small  monastic 
house,  then  deserted  and  in  ruins,  which  the  king  and  his 
mother  at  the  same  time  enriched  with  lands,  and  other 
valuable  gifts.  Ethelwold  induced  five  monks  of  Glaston- 
bury, Osgar,  Foldbirht,  Friwegar,  Ordbirht,  and  Eadric,  to 
accompany  him,  and  they  began  to  erect  a  new  building, 
more  worthy  of  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  destined.  This 


*- 


-* 


lO  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  i. 

work  was  not  completed  till  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Edgar,  when  Ethelwold  sent  Osgar  to  Fleury  to  be  instructed 
in  the  monastic  discipline  of  that  place,  and  qualified  to 
teach  it  to  the  monks  of  Abingdon/ 

There  was  at  Abingdon  a  simple  monk  named  -^Ifstan, 
who  was  employed  by  Ethelwold  in  the  kitchen.  ^.Ifstan 
had  no  easy  time  of  it ;  he  had  to  cook  for  the  monks,  and 
cook  for  the  workmen  engaged  on  the  buildings  of  the  new 
monastery.  He  was  an  active,  neat,  punctual  man,  who  had 
always  meals  ready  at  the  right  time,  the  kitchen  swept 
scmpulously  clean,  the  pots  and  pans  scrubbed,  and  set  in 
their  places.  Ethelwold  had  no  idea  that  .^Ifstan  was 
without  assistance  in  the  kitchen  ;  by  some  oversight  he  had 
not  supplied  him  with  a  scullery-monk,  but  the  cheerful, 
dapper  cook  did  not  complain,  but  went  about  his  work 
singing  and  making  melody  in  his  heart  to  God. 

One  day  Ethelwold  came  into  the  kitchen  and  found  the 
great  cauldron  full  of  bread  and  meat  stewing  for  the  work- 
men, the  floor  as  clean  as  a  platter,  no  dusters  scattered 
here  and  there,  and  dirty  bowls  in  the  sink,  on  the  table, 
or  crumbs  everywhere,  but  all  in  perfect,  scrupulous  order. 

"  Oh,  my  brother  !  thou  art  a  gallant  soldier  of  Christ !' 
exclaimed  the  abbot.  "  Thrust  thy  hand  into  the  cauldron, 
and  fish  me  up  a  crust  from  the  bottom,  and  see  if  the  Lord 
approveth  thee,  as  I  do." 

The  obedient  ^Ifstan  took  the  lid  off  the  simmering 
copper,  put  in  his  arm  through  the  steam,  down  through  the 
boiling  water,  and  brought  up  a  dripping  crust.  And  his 
arm  was  uninjured.     "  Tell  no  man,"  said  the  abbot,  rejoiced. 

^Ifstan,  the  cook,  became  eventually  Abbot  of  Abingdon, 
and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Winchester.* 

'  The  most  detailed  account  of  Ethelwold's  works  at  Abingdon  will  be  found  in  the 
extracts  from  the  register  of  that  house,  printed  by  Dugdale  in  his  Monasticon,  vol.  i. 

'  Elsewhere  called  Alfsin  or  Elfsige;  he  occupied  the  episcopal  throne  of  Winchester 
trom  A.D.  1015  to  X033. 


-* 


August  I.] 


•5'.  Ethelwold. 


II 


Ethelwold  was  a  mighty  builder,  never  at  rest  unless 
superintending  and  setting  his  hand  to  the'construction  of 
new  buildings  ;  and  several  times  in  jeopardy  thereby.  One 
day  a  great  beam  fell  on  him  whilst  he  was  helping  the 
masons  ("  the  devil  seeking  to  extinguish  him,"  says 
Wulstan),  and  knocked  him  head  over  heels  into  a  ditch, 
where  it  lay  across  him.  All  his  ribs  were  broken,  and  but 
for  the  ditch  it  would  have  crushed  the  life  out  of  him. 

In  963,  about  three  years  after  the  completion  of  the 
monastery  at  Abingdon,  King  Edgar  promoted  Ethelwold  to 
the  bishopric  of  Winchester,  left  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Brithelm.  He  was  consecrated  by  S.  Dunstan,  then  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent, 
November  29th,  the  vigil  of  S.  Andrew's  Day. 

Ethelwold  had  no  sooner  been  advanced  to  the  bishopric 
of  Winchester,  thin  he  joined  Dunstan  in  the  great  revolu- 
tion in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  which  the  archbishop  had 
at  heart.  He  found  his  cathedral  served  by  secular  married 
priests,  canons  under  no  strict  rule,  living  with  their  wives 
and  families  near  the  great  church,  feeding  well,  and  some- 
times taking  the  convivial  glass,  chirpy,  jovial,  worthy  souls, 
very  unlike  the  grave,  austere,  enthusiastic  monks  in  the 
abbeys.  Not  only  the  Old  Minster  at  Winchester — the 
monastery  attached  to  the  episcopal  see — was  occupied  by 
these  convivial,  married  canons,  but  also  the  New  Minster, 
formed  by  King  Alfred.  The  former  was  immediately  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop ;  and  having  obtained  the 
authorization  of  Edgar,  in  the  second  year  of  his  bishopric 
(a.d.  964),  he  ejected  the  priests,  their  wives  and  children 
from  the  close,  and  invited  his  monks  from  Abingdon  to 
occupy  their  stalls,  and  enjoy  their  emoluments. 

The  last  mass  sung  by  the  old  canons  was  on  the  first 
Saturday  in  Lent.     The  mass  ended,  they  were  singing  the 


communion,  when  the  western  door  was  opened   by  the 


*- 


*- 


12 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  t. 


arriving  black-robed  swarm  from  Abingdon.  The  words  of 
the  communion  were  :  "  Serve  the  Lord  in  fear  and  rejoice 
unto  him  with  reverence,  receive  discipline,  lest  ye  perish 
from  the  right  way."  The  monks  thought  the  words  appro- 
priate. Osgar,  turning  in  the  sunshine  at  the  great  gate, 
exclaimed,  "  My  brethren  !  the  canons  are  calling  us  to 
come  in  and  take  their  places.     Why  tarry  ye  without  ?" 

Then  an  ofificer  of  the  king  stood  forth,  and  ordered  the 
canons  to  assume  the  black,  monastic  robe,  or  to  depart. 
The  canons,  bewildered,  filled  with  dismay — the  plans  of 
Ethelwold  were  apparently  kept  secret  till  the  blow  fell — 
fled  from  the  church,  to  collect  such  of  their  property  as 
they  would  be  suffered  to  carry  off.^  Three  only  consented 
to  turn  their  wives  and  children  out  of  their  houses  on  the 
world,  and  embrace  the  religious  life.  "  At  this  time,"  says 
Wulstan,  "  there  were  no  monks  in  England  save  at  Glaston- 
bury and  Abingdon." 

The  New  Minster  soon  shared  the  fate  of  the  Old,  and 
within  the  same  year  the  secular  priests  were  expelled  from 
Chertsey  and  Milton — old  monasteries  which  had  been 
gradually  invaded  by  clergy  not  living  under  rule,  who  had 
brought  in  with  them  their  wives  and  children  to  disturb  the 
silent  cloisters. 

These  vigorous  proceedings  caused  great  irritation  in  the 
diocese  between  the  old  clergy  and  the  new  monks,  and  the 
biographer  of  Ethelwold  does  not  hesitate  to  charge  the 
former  with  an  attempt  to  poison  their  prelate  at  his  own 
table,  because  after  a  draught  of  home-made  wine  he  felt 
uncomfortable  internally." 

>  "  He  drave  out  the  clergy  of  the  bishopric,  because  they  would  not  take  the  rule, 

and  he  set  there  monks  in  their  room."     Saxon  Chron.  sub.  ann.  983. 

'  The  only  ground  for  this  charge  is  that  the  bishop  had  a  pain  in  his  stomach 
after  drinking  some  home-made  wine.  He  was  none  the  worse  for  it,  however,  next 
day.  That,  Wulstan  thinks,  was  a  miracle.  But  he  tells  us  elsewhere  that  the 
saintly  bishop  was  subject  to  pains  in  the  bowels.  "  Vir  Dei  infirmabatur  frequenter 
in  visceribus." 


*- 


-* 


^- 


-* 


August  X.] 


S.  Ethelwold. 


13 


Having  thus  reformed  the  four  monasteries  above  men- 
tioned, and  compelled  the  Nuns'  Minster  at  Winchester  to 
adopt  a  stricter  rule,  Ethelwold  turned  liis  attention  to  the 
monasteries  which  had  been  deserted  during  the  Danish 
wars,  and  the  possessions  of  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  king.  This  was  the  case  with  most  of  the  larger 
monastic  foundations,  and  it  assisted  in  no  slight  degree  his 
favourite  project  of  introducing  monks  in  place  of  the 
secular  clergy  throughout  the  land.  Ethelwold  first  bought 
from  the  king  the  ancient  nunnery  of  Ely,  and  having,  by 
the  purchase  of  numerous  estates,  and  by  other  gifts,  made 
it  "  very  rich,"  he  placed  in  it  a  company  of  monks  under  an 
abbot  named  Brithnoth.*  He  bought  and  rebuilt,  in  the 
same  manner,  the  ruins  of  Medeshamsted  (Peterborough), 
and  Thorney ;  and  he  did  not  desist  from  prosecuting  his 
great  design  until  he  had  established  monks  in  every  part  of 
England. 

These  extensive  operations  afforded  Ethelwold  frequent 
occasions  for  indulging  in  his  love  of  the  arts.  One  of  his 
chief  architectural  works  was  the  rebuilding  the  cathedral  of 
Winchester,  which  occupied  him  some  years,  and  was  not 
finished  till  the  year  980,  when,  on  the  20th  of  October,  it 
was  consecrated  with  much  pomp  by  Archbishop  Dunstan, 
in  the  presence  of  King  Ethelred  and  nine  bishops.  In  the 
course  of  this  undertaking  Ethelwold  disinterred  the  bones 
of  S.  S\vithun,  which  he  deposited  in  a  new  tomb  in  the 
interior  of  the  church  in  a.d.  971. 

Ethelwold  was  likewise  skilful  in  the  mechanical  arts,  and 
in  music,  taking  after  his  old  friend  and  fellow  pupil, 
Dunstan.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  bells  which  he 
made  mth  his  own  hands  for  the  abbey  of  Abingdon.  From 
the  early  register  of  the  same  abbey  we  leam  that  he  also 

1  Saxon  Chron.  sub.  ann.  963.     A  detailed  account  of  Ethelwold's  benefactions  ta 
the  minster  of  Ely  is  found  in  MS.  Cotton,  Vespas.  A.  xix. 


*- 


-* 


^. _ 1^ 

14  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August  i. 


made  "  a  certain  wheel  full  of  bells,  which  he  called  the 
Golden  Wheel,  on  account  of  its  being  plated  with  gold, 
which  he  ordered  to  be  brought  out  and  turned  round  on 
feast  days  to  excite  greater  devotion."  He  is  said  to  have 
been  eminent  as  a  mathematician ;  and  a  treatise  on  the 
quadrature  of  the  circle,  addressed  by  him  to  the  celebrated 
Gerbert,  is  still  preserved. 

Under  Ethehvold's  superintendence  the  monastery  of 
Winchester  became  an  eminent  school,  which  produced 
many  of  the  most  remarkable  bishops  and  abbots  of  the 
following  age.  His  biographer  describes  to  us  the  eagerness 
with  which  he  employed  himself  in  the  instruction  of  youth, 
and  the  pleasure  he  appeared  to  feel  when  teaching  children 
the  grammar  and  metres  of  the  Latin  language,  and  reading 
to  them  Latin  books  in  English. 

He  suffered  from  a  tumour  on  his  thigh,  and  from  pains 
in  the  bowels,  yet  he  would  not  eat  meat,  except  for  three 
months,  and  in  his  last  sickness,  at  the  exhortation  of 
S.  Dunstan. 

One  night  a  monk  named  Theodric  went  to  him  when 
the  time  came  for  rising  to  sing  the  praises  of  God,  and 
found  that  instead  of  having  gone  to  bed  after  Compline 
the  bishop  had  sat  up  reading  by  a  candle  he  held  in  his 
one  hand,  whilst  he  shaded  his  eyes  with  the  other.  This 
was  a  novel  idea  to  Theodric.  How  a  man  could  find 
such  delight  in  a  book  as  to  forget  his  sleep  for  it  was  to 
him  amazing.  That  a  man  should  read  by  candlelight  was 
a  novelty.  So  he  took  the  candle  from  the  bishop's  hand, 
drew  the  book  towards  himself,  and  tried  to  read.  But  his 
eyes  ached  next  day,  and  never,  till  his  dying  day,  did 
Theodric  afterwards  approve  of  study  by  candlelight. 

Another  night  the  old  bishop  fell  asleep  over  his  studies, 
and  the  candle  he  held  dropped  on  the  parchment  page. 
He  was  found  by  a  monk  with  his  head   bowed  and  the 


-* 


IRON   CHAIN   SUPPOSED   TO    HAVE    BEEN    MADE 
BY   S.    ETHELWOLD. 


Aug.,  p.  14.] 


[Aug.  I. 


August  I.] 


S.  Etkelwold. 


15 


-* 


candle  on  the  book,  and  though  the  grease  had  swaled  over 
the  page  the  parchment  was  unconsumed.  This  was 
regarded  as  miraculous. 

The  chief  literary  work  of  S.  Ethelwold  (or,  at  least,  the 
one  by  which  he  was  best  known)  was  a  translation  into 
Ansrlo-Saxon  of  the  Rule  of  S.  Benedict.  This  work  he 
is  said  to  have  undertaken  at  the  desire  of  King 
Edgar,  who  gave  him  for  it  the  manor  of  Southbourne, 
which  he  immediately  conferred  upon  his  foundation  of 
Ely.  Ethelwold's  munificence  appeared  in  the  number  and 
richness  of  his  endowments,  probably  far  exceeding  those  of 
any  other  individual  in  his  age.  His  charity  was  exhibited 
in  a  no  less  remarkable  manner ;  when  his  own  diocese  was 
suffering  under  the  visitation  of  famine,  he  ordered  all  the 
sacred  vessels  of  the  Church  to  be  broken  up  and  turned  into 
money,  observing  that  the  precious  metals  were  better 
employed  in  feeding  the  poor  than  in  ministering  to  the 
pride  of  ecclesiastics.  The  Saxon  Chronicle  calls  him 
"the  well-willing  bishop."  Ethelwold  died  on  the  ist  of 
August,  984,  and  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  of  Winchester. 
S.  Dunstan  was  present  at  his  death. 

The  church  of  Alvingham  in  Lincolnshire  is  dedicated 
to  him  under  the  name  of  Adwell,  which  is  a  corruption 
of  Ethelwold. 


1 6  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August .. 


August  2. 

S.  Maximus,  B.  of  Padua;  and  cent. 

S.  Stephen  I.  Pope,  M.  at  nami;  a.d.  257. 

S.  RUTILIUS,  M.  in  Africa;  ^^d cent. 

SS.  Theodota  and  her  Three  Sons,  at  Nic<Ea;  circ.  A.D.  304. 

S.  AuSPlcius,  B.  at  Apte  in  Gaul. 

S.  Serenus,  B.  of  Marseilles  ;  beginning  of  qth  cent. 

S.  Bethakius,  B.  ofChartres;  circ.  a.d.  623. 

S.  Etheldritha,  R.  at  Croylaiid;  circ.  a.d.  834. 

S.  Peter,  B.  of  Borgo  de  Osma,  in  Spain,  a.d.  1109. 

S.  Alphonso  Liguori,  B.  ofS.  Agatha,  at  Nocera  de'  Pagani,  k.'d.  1787. 

S.  STEPHEN  I.  POPE,  M. 

(a.d.  257.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  Ado,  Usuardus,  ancient  Roman  Martyrology.  By 
the  Greeks  on  the  30th  August  or  7th  Sept.  But  in  the  Martyrology  of  the 
Emperor  Basil  on  August  2.  Authority  : — The  letters  of  S.  Cyprian,  Anas- 
tasius  Bibliothecarius,  &c.] 

URING  the  interval  of  peace  that  elapsed  between 
the  Decian  and  Valerian  persecutions,  a  contro- 
versy sprang  up  on  the  rebaptism  of  heretics. 
Africa  and  the  East,  Alexandria,  with  less  deci- 
sion, declared  the  baptism  by  heretics  to  be  an  idle  cere- 
mony, and  even  an  impious  mimicry  of  that  holy  sacrament, 
which  could  only  be  valid  when  performed  by  clergy  duly 
consecrated,  and  maintaining  their  union  with  the  body  of 
the  Church. 

Lucius,  Pope  of  Rome,  died  in  253,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Stephen.  This  pope  did  not  adopt  the  harsh  view  of 
the  Eastern  prelates.  Every  baptism  performed  with  the 
right  matter  and  the  right  words,  he  contended,  admitted  to 
Christian  privileges.  Unfortunately,  Stephen's  letters  are 
lost;  his  adversaries  charge  him  with  having  enforced  his 
rule  with  imperious  dictation. 


-* 


* 


August  a.] 


S.  Stephen, 


17 


S.  Cyprian  of  Carthage,  S.  Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  wrote 
to  him.  He  replied  denouncing  S.  Cyprian  as  a  false 
Christ,  a  false  apostle,  a  deceitful  worker;  and  broke  off 
communion  with  all  the  Churches  of  the  East  and  of  Africa 
which  adhered  to  the  more  rigorous  practice.  S.  Cyprian 
summoned  a  council  to  meet  at  Carthage.  Seventy-one 
bishops  of  Africa  assembled,  and  asserted  the  independent 
judgment  of  the  African  Churches. 

S.  Cyprian  sent  two  bishops  to  Rome  with  a  copy  ot  the 
decisions  of  the  Carthaginian  council,  and  letters  from  him- 
self S.  Stephen  would  not  allow  the  messengers  to  enter 
his  presence,  and  forbad  the  faithful  to  show  them  the 
smallest  hospitality,  to  receive  them  into  their  houses,  or 
wish  them  God-speed.  Cyprian  wrote  in  indignation.  He 
condemned  in  severe  terms  the  perverseness,  obstinacy, 
contumacy  of  Stephen.  He  promulgated,  in  Latin,  a  letter 
of  S.  Firmilian,  Bishop  of  Cappadocian  Caesarea,  still  more 
unmeasured  in  its  censures.  FirmiHan  denounced  the 
audacity,  the  insolence  of  Stephen ;  scoffed  at  his  boasted 
descent  from  S.  Peter;  declared  that,  by  his  sin,  he  had 
excommunicated  himself;  that  he  was  a  schismatic,  an 
apostate  from  the  unity  of  the  Church.  Cyprian  assembled 
another  council.  Eighty-seven  bishops  met  under  his 
presidency,  reasserted  their  previous  decision,  repudiated 
the  assumption  by  Stephen  of  the  title  Bishop  of 
Bishops,  and  the  arbitrary  dictation  of  one  bishop  to  all 
Christendom. 

This  was  in  a.d.  256.  In  the  council  were  fifteen  con- 
fessors, some  with  scars,  and  maimed  for  the  faith.  It  is 
not  known  what  was  the  end  of  this  dispute.  It  lasted 
under  the  pontificate  of  S.  Sixtus,  successor  of  S.  Stephen; 
for  S.  Dionysius  wrote  to  him  on  the  subject. 

The  sudden  break  out  of  persecution  under  Valerian  in 

the  year  following  the  council,  a.d.    257,    drew   attention 
VOL.  IX.  2 


-^^ 


^ — ^ ^ 

1 8  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusta. 

from  these  questions  to  the  more  pressing  necessities  of  a 
time  of  fiery  trial. 

One  of  the  first  victims  was  S.  Stephen.  He  died  on  the 
2nd  of  August,  A.D.  257,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of 
CaUixtus. 


S.  RUTILIUS,  M. 

(3RD  CENT.) 

[Roman   Martyrology.     Authority: — Tertullian,   De  Fuga  in  Persecu- 
tione,  c.  9.] 

RuTiLius,  says  Tertullian,  was  a  Christian  in  Africa  who 
greatly  feared  death.  He  therefore,  in  the  persecution  of 
Severus,  fled  from  place  to  place,  and  from  one  hiding-place 
to  another  to  avoid  capture.  He  even  paid  money  to 
obtain  his  exemption  from  sacrifice.  But  having  been 
caught,  he  was  brought  before  the  magistrate,  boldly  con- 
fessed Christ,  and  suffered. 


S.  THEODOTA,  M. 

(ciRC.    A.D.    304.) 

[By  the  Greeks  S.  Theodota  and  her  three  sons  on  July  29,  and  again  on 
Dec.  22.  In  the  lesser  Roman  Martyrology  "  In  Bithynia,  Theodota  and  her 
three  sons."  So  also  Ado,  Usuardus  adds  "at  Nicasa,"  and  says  that  the 
eldest  of  the  sons  was  called  Euodius.  A  church  was  dedicated  to  these 
martyrs  at  an  early  age  at  Constantinople.  It  was  built  by  the  Emperor 
Justin,  about  A.n.  520,  but  probably  only  rebuilt  on  an  earlier  site.  The 
Acts  are  untrustworthy.] 

■    S.  Theodota,  a  widow  of  Nicsea,  probably  wealthy,  was 

sought  in  marriage  by  Leucatius  the  prefect.     And  when 

she  refused  him,  he  sent  her  and  her  three  sons  to  Nicetias, 

prefect  of  Bithynia,  charged  with  being  Christians.     They 

were  cast  into  a  furnace,  and  perished  in  the  flames. 


•J- 


August  3.] 


S.  Etheldritha. 


19 


S.  ETHELDRITHA,  V.R. 
(about  a.d,  834.) 

[Mayhewsays,  "In  the  Monastery  of  Croyland,  on  this  day,  the  com- 
memoration of  the  Blessed  Etheldritha  the  virgin,  called  by  some  Alfreda." 
The  Bollandists  also  on  this  day.  Authorities  : — Ingulf  of  Croyland  and 
John  of  Brompton.  Ingulfs  History  of  Croyland  is  unfortunately  not  to  be 
depended  upon  in  many  matters.  It  was  certainly  not  composed  by  Ingulf, 
who  died  A.D.  1109,  and  is  a  forgery  of  some  monk  of  Croyland  composed 
for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  claims  of  the  abbots  of  Croyland  in  their 
lawsuits  with  the  monks  of  Spalding.  The  charters  it  contains  are  also 
forgeries.  It  was  too  frequently  the  custom  of  the  monastic  bodies  in  the 
Middle  Ages  to  forge  charters  and  grants  of  lands,  &c.,  to  support  their 
claims.  Some  of  these  forgeries  may  be  seen  in  the  Durham  library  at  the 
present  day.  Ingulfs  History  of  Croyland  may,  however,  and  probably 
does,  contain  fragments  of  genuine  history,  and  among  such  may  be  the 
notice  of  S.  Etheldritha.     It  is  moreover  confirmed  by  other  writers.] 

Offa,  King  of  the  Mercians,  by  his  wife  Cynedritha,  had 
a  daughter  named  Etheldritha,  or  Alfreda,  whose  hand 
Ethelbert  of  the  East  Angles  sought.  The  young  prince 
came  to  the  court  of  Offa  at  Sutton  Wallis  to  make  his  suit 
but  was  treacherously  murdered  by  Cynedritha,  no  doubt 
with  the  private  sanction  of  Offa,  who,  after  his  death,  sent 
troops  into  East  Anglia,  and  annexed  it  to  his  own  posses- 
sions.* Etheldritha,  filled  with  horror  at  the  crime — the 
murder  by  her  own  mother  of  the  young  king  who  had 
sought  her  in  marriage — fled  her  home,  and  retired  to  the 
island  of  Croyland,  in  the  desolate  marshes  of  Lincolnshire, 
and  spent  forty  years  in  a  cell  adjoining  the  church.  An- 
other daughter  of  Offa  was  Eadburg,  who  became  wife  of 
Beortric,  King  of  Wessex,  and  was  the  murderess  of  Worr.*" 

On  the  death  of  Offa  (a.d.  794),  Mercia  was  governed  by 
Kenwulf,  who  died  in  819;  S.  Kenelm,^  the  little  son  of 
Kenwulf,  was  murdered  by  his  sister  in  the  same  year,  and 
then  the  throne  was  occupied  by  Ceolwulf  Two  years 
after,  he  was  driven  out  by  one  Beornwulf,  who  was  defeated 

1  See  for  particulars.  May  20th,  p.  308. 
*  See  SS.  Judith  and  Salome,  June  agth.  *  See  S.  Kenelm,  July  17th. 

2 2 


-* 


20  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August » 

by  Egbert,  King  of  the  West  Saxons,  in  823.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Ludeca,  who  was  killed  by  the  East  Anglians. 
On  his  death,  Witlaf  was  elected  king;  but  in  827  Egbert 
drove  him  out  of  his  kingdom.  Witlaf  took  refuge  in  the 
cell  of  his  kinswoman,  S.  Etheldritha,  at  Croyland.  The 
soldiers  of  Egbert  sought  him  everywhere  throughout  Mer- 
cia,  but  could  not  find  him,  and  for  four  months  he  lay 
concealed  in  the  cell  of  the  recluse.  Siward,  Abbot  of 
Croyland,  then  mediated  between  him  and  Egbert,  and 
Witlaf  was  allowed  to  return  to  his  kingdom,  on  a  promise 
of  paying  an  annual  tribute.* 

"This  King  Witlaf  perseveringly  continued  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  the  same  love  which  he  had  entertained 
tor  the  monastery  of  Croyland.  And  when  he  heard  of  the 
death  of  the  most  holy  virgin  Etheldritha,  he  was  over- 
whelmed with  such  excessive  grief,  that  as  he  lay  for  a  long 
time  on  his  bed,  his  friends  feared  that  his  death  was  nigh 
at  hand.  At  length,  having,  by  the  grace  of  God,  been  in 
some  degree  restored,  he  came  to  her  sepulchre — for  she 
had  been  buried  at  the  head  of  the  holy  man  Tatwin,  for- 
merly the  guide  and  boatman  of  the  holy  father  Guthlac,  in 
the  said  island — and  there,  as  though  in  an  ecstasy,  he  shed 
as  many  tears  over  the  tomb  as  if  he  had  lost  wife  and  son, 
or  his  whole  family  had  perished  by  a  sudden  misfortune ; 
until  Lord  Siward,  the  abbot,  whom  he  always  most  ten- 
derly venerated  as  his  father,  having  rebuked  him  with  some 
severity,  led  him  away,  unwillingly  and  reluctantly,  from  the 
tomb  to  his  own  chamber."  * 

1  This  is  the  occasion  of  the  pseudo  Ingulf  introducing  a  forged  charter  granting 
e;^tensive  lands  to  the  Abbey  of  Croyland,  signed  by  Witlaf. 


* ■ — ,J, 


August  2.] 


S.  Alphonso  Ligtiori. 


21 


-* 


S.  ALPHONSO  LIGUORI,  B.D. 

(A.D.    1787.) 
[Roman  Martyrology.     Declared  Venerable  by  Pius  VI.  in  1798,  beatified 
by  Pius  VII.,   canonized  by  Pius  VIII.  in  1830,  and  proclaimed  a  Doctor 
of  the  Church  by  Pius  IX.] 

Alphonso  Liguori  was  born  in  1696,  at  Marianella,  near 
Naples,  and  was  educated  for  the  law.  His  faculties  were 
not  remarkable  for  their  brilliancy,  and  there  seemed  little 
prospect  of  his  making  much  way  in  the  profession  of  the 
law.  One  day  he  had  to  argue  a  case  ;  he  spent  a  whole 
month  in  laboriously  getting  it  up  ;  when  he  came  to  argue, 
he  spoke  with  great  vehemence,  but  showed  such  wonderful 
lack  of  appreciation  of  the  matter  under  dispute,  that  the 
counsel  on  the  other  side  found  no  difficulty  in  exposing 
him  to  the  ridicule  and  scorn  of  the  court.  He  rushed  from 
the  hall  of  justice,  amid  the  hisses  and  laughter  of  all 
present,  to  bury  himself  in  his  chamber,  muttering, 
"  Deceptive  world,  now  I  know  thee  !"  He  did  not  leave 
his  room  for  three  days,  during  which  he  ate  his  heart 
with  vexation  and  shame.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  came 
forth  resolved,  as  the  law  opened  no  prospects  of  success  to 
him,  that  he  would  essay  what  he  could  do  in  the  Church. 
His  father  opposed  his  design,  the  outcome,  as  he  thought, 
not  of  a  true  vocation,  but  of  chagrin  and  disappointed 
pride.  But  Alphonso  was  resolute,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven  he  irrevocably  devoted  himself  to  religion. 
He  was  tonsured  by  the  Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Naples  on 
the  23rd  September,  1725,  and  received  the  four  minor 
orders  by  accumulation  on  the  23rd  of  December  of  the 
same  year.  When  he  had  received  the  priesthood,  he 
associated  himself  with  the  Society  of  the  Propaganda,  and 
other  charitable  foundations  established  at  Naples,  devoted 
himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  and  preached  through- 
out the  realm.     Missions  became  the  principal  object  of 


-* 


22  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [Augusta. 

his  zeal  and  of  his  care.  In  1732  he  laid  the  foundations 
of  his  Congregation  of  Missionaries  of  the  Holy  Redeemer, 
in  the  hermitage  of  S.  Maria  at  Scala.  This  institute  met 
with  obstacles  at  first,  but  Liguori  triumphed  over  them  by 
his  constancy  and  zeal.  It  was  approved  by  the  Holy  See, 
and  spread  through  the  kingdom  of  Naples  and  the  States 
of  the  Church.  In  1762  Clement  XIII.  elevated  this 
laborious  missionary  to  the  episcopate.  Consecrated  Bishop 
of  S.  Agata  de'  Goti  and  Nocera,  Liguori  exhibited  himself 
a  vigilant  pastor  of  souls,  preaching,  and  exhorting,  and 
visiting  his  flock,  and  taking  pains  to  form  a  religious 
character  in  his  clergy.  In  July,  1775,  exhausted  by  his 
long  labours,  he  obtained  permission  from  Pius  VI.  to 
resign  his  see,  and  he  retired  into  the  bosom  of  his  congre- 
gation at  Nocera  de'  Pagani,  where  he  lived  in  prayer  and 
recollection.  There  he  composed  his  writings,  which  have 
been  so  highly  esteemed  that  they  have  procured  for  him 
from  Pope  Pius  IX.  the  title  of  Doctor  of  the  Church,  and 
died  at  an  advanced  age.  Even  those  who  opposed  his 
teaching — and  his  "  Moral  Theology  "  was  calculated  to 
excite  indignation  and  disgust  in  certain  minds — could  not 
refuse  to  render  homage  to  his  virtues.  Some  men  are 
indulgent  to  themselves  and  severe  towards  others.  It  was 
not  so  with  Liguori.  He  practised  the  greatest  austerities 
himself,  but  was  excessively  indulgent  in  the  confessional  to 
sinners.  Indeed,  he  thought  confessors  were  not  as  a  rule 
ea^y  enough  with  their  penitents  \  in  his  old  age  he  boasted 
that  he  had  never  once  in  his  long  life  sent  away  a  peni- 
tent unabsolved.  He  never  imposed  heavy  penances, 
wisely  saying,  "If  the  sinner  is  really  contrite,  he  will 
punish  himself;  but  if  you  impose  on  him  a  penance,  he 
will  neglect  the  penance  and  cleave  to  the  sin."  His 
gentleness,  patience,  and  loveableness  are  said  to  have  won 
multitudes  of  souls  to  a  good  self-denying  life.     He  was 

^ li, 


Aug.,  p.  22.] 


S.  ALPHONSO  LIGUORI.     After  Cahier, 


[Aug.  2. 


*- 


August  a.] 


5*.  Alphonso  Ligiwri. 


23 


-* 


very  particular  in  instructing  the  members  of  his  Congrega- 
tion in  the  right  mode  of  preaching.  "  Let  the  style  be 
simple,"  said  he,  "  but  let  the  sermon  be  artistically  con- 
structed. If  art  be  absent,  the  discourse  is  unconnected 
and  insipid  ;  if  it  be  bombastic,  the  poor  cannot  understand 
it.  I  have  never  preached  a  sermon  which  the  poorest  old 
woman  in  the  congregation  could  not  understand." 

He  was  sorely  tempted  both  before  and  after  he  was  a 
bishop  with  doubts  in  the  faith,  wliich  caused  him  intense 
distress.  He  would  walk  about  all  night,  stamping  on  the 
floor,  and  crying  out  "  Jesu  !  Mary  !"  in  his  distress. 

He  was  a  man  of  small  mental  power,  of  a  narrow, 
scrupulous  mind,  unable  to  take  broad  views  of  anysubject ; 
but  single  in  purpose,  and  following  his  conscience  wherever 
it  led  him.  He  died  on  ist  August,  1787,  and  was  buried 
the  following  day.  His  commemoration  takes  place  on 
the  day  of  his  interment,  on  account  of  August  ist  being 
Lammas  Day. 

His  body  reposes  in  a  shrine  in  the  Redemptorist  church 
of  S.  Michael  degli  Pagani,  at  Nocera,  with  the  exception 
of  three  of  the  fingers,  which  were  cut  off  and  sent  to  Rome 
at  the  request  of  the  Pope,  and  some  ribs,  contributed  to 
various  Redemptorist  churches. 


-* 


^. 


24  Lives  of  the  Sai7its.  [Augusts. 


August  3. 

S.  Lydia,  at  Philippi,  in  Macedonia,  1st  cent, 

S.  AsPRENlus,  B.C.  at  Naples,  ist  cent. 

S.  Dalmatius,  Ab.  at  Constantinople,  circ.  A.D.  440. 

SS.  Marana  and  Cyra  at  Bertea,  in  Syria,  middle  of  ^th  cent, 

S.  Peter,  B.  of  Anagni,  in  Italy,  A.D.  1105. 

S.  Waltheof,  Ab.  in  Scotland,  A.D.  1160.  j 

S.    LYDIA. 

(iST  CENT.) 

[Modem   Roman  Martyrology.     Not  in  any  ancient  I.atin  or  Greek 
kalendars.     Authority  : — The  Acts  of  tVie  Apostles,  xvi.] 

|YDIA,  the  first  European  convert  of  S.  Paul,  and 
afterwards  his  hostess  during  his  first  stay  at 
Philippi,  was  probably  a  Jewess  there  at  the  time 
of  the  Apostle's  coming ;  and  it  was  at  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  worship  in  an  oratory  by  the  river  side  that  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  reached  her  heart.  Her  native 
place  was  Thyatira,  in  the  province  of  Asia.  Thyatira  was 
famous  for  its  dyeing  works ;  and  Lydia  was  connected  with 
this  trade,  either  as  a  seller  of  dyes  or  of  dyed  goods.  We 
may  infer  that  she  was  a  woman  of  considerable  wealth. 


S.  ASPREN,  B.C. 

(iST  CENT.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.     Authority  : — The  apocryphal  Acts  read  as  lessons 
in  the  Church  of  Naples.] 

S.  AsPREN  is  said  to  have  been  baptized  by  S.  Peter  when 
on  his  way  to  Rome.  "  Having  founded  the  Church  of 
Antioch,  and  going  to  Rome,  he  passed  the  walls  of  Naples, 
and  being  tired  with  his  long  journey,  he  sat  down  awhile, 

^ . ^ 


-1^ 


August  3.1 


S.  Dahnatms. 


25 


and  seeing  a  little  old  woman  passing,  he  stopped  her,  and 
asked  of  her  the  condition  of  the  city,  the  customs  of  its 
inhabitants,  their  moral  character,  what  were  their  rites, 
laws,  and  devotion  to  the  Deity." 

Highly  gratified  with  the  old  woman's  account  of  Naples, 
the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  without  continuing  his  journey  to 
Rome  from  Antioch,  paused  at  Naples,  and  healed  Aspren, 
the  kinsman  of  the  old  woman,  who  had  given  him  such  a 
glowing  picture  of  the  virtues  of  the  Neapolitans.  Aspren 
was  forthwith  baptized  and  consecrated  bishop ;  and  then 
S.  Peter  continued  his  journey. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  point  out  that  this  story  is  mere  idle 
legend. 


S.  DALMATIUS,  AB. 

(about   A.D.    440.) 

[By  the  Greeks  on  this  day  ;  also  in  the  Syriac  and  Armenian  kalendars. 
The  Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil  commemorates  the  hegumen  Isaac 
along  with  Dalmatius  and  Faustus.  All  three  on  this  day  in  the  Russian 
kalendar.  Authorities  ; — An  ancient  Greek  hfe,  the  letters  of  S.  Cyril,  and 
writers  on  the  Council  of  Ephesus.] 

Dalmatius  had  borne  arms  under  Theodosius  the  Great, 
and  had  served  in  the  second  company  of  the  guards.  But 
S.  Isaac,  hegumen  or  abbot  of  a  monastery  in  Constantinople, 
bade  him  enter  the  religious  life.  Dalmatius,  amazed 
answered  him,  "My  father,  I  have  a  household  and 
children." 

"  My  son,"  said  Isaac,  "  the  Lord  has  shown  me  that  he 
has  destined  thee  to  be  with  me  through  the  rest  of  my  life." 

Then  Dalmatius  went  home,  and  bade  farewell  to  his 
wife  and  daughter,  and  taking  his  son  Faustus  with  him, 
they  were  shorn  together  in  the  house  of  Isaac.  He 
speedily  became   a  model  of  a  monk,  fasting  long,  and 


-* 


26  Lives  of  the  Samts.  [Augusta. 

falling  into  ecstasies.  On  the  death  of  Isaac,  he  was  elected 
hegumen  in  his  room. 

In  427,  on  the  death  of  the  patriarch  Sisinnius,  the 
Syrian  Nestorius  was  elevated  to  the  bishopric  of  Con- 
stantinople. He  was  a  man  oi  great  ability ;  fluent, 
eloquent,  with  a  clear,  pealing  voice,  like  a  silver  bell.  He 
had  been  a  priest  at  Antioch,  where  his  sermons  attracted 
great  numbers.  Constantinople  thought  that  in  Nestorius 
she  had  acquired  a  second  Chrysostom.  But  he  was  a  man 
of  another  sort  from  the  great  John.  Immediately  on  his 
appointment,  he  manifested  a  hot  intemperate  zeal  against 
heretics.  In  one  of  his  first  sermons  he  exclaimed,  turning 
to  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  "  Give  me,  O  Emperor  !  the 
land  purged  of  heretics,  and  I  will  give  thee  heaven  in 
return.  Assist  me  in  destroying  heretics,  and  I  will  assist 
thee  to  combat  the  Persians."* 

Not  long  after — he  had  not  been  bishop  a  week — he 
endeavoured  to  deprive  the  Arians  of  an  oratory  in  Con- 
stantinople which  they  possessed,  and  in  which  they 
worshipped  privately.  In  the  tumult  that  ensued,  the 
oratory  was  set  on  fire,  and  the  flames  communicating  with 
the  neighbouring  houses,  reduced  several  to  ashes.  He 
next  assailed  the  Novatians,  the  Quartodecimans,  and  the 
Macedonians,  and  persuaded  the  Emperor  to  pass  severe 
laws  against  these  heretics. 

This  intolerance  displeased  Dalmatius  and  other  sound 
minded  men,  and  they  felt  instinctively  that  the  heart  of  the 
persecutor  was  not  right  with  God.  It  was  not  long  before 
Nestorius  himself  began  to  fall  imder  suspicion  of  heresy. 
He  denied  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  the  title  of  Mother  of 
God.  She  was  the  mother  of  the  manhood,  but  in  no  way 
could  she  be  regarded  as  mother  of  the  Godhead.  He 
went  further;  he  asserted  that  "God  the  Word  was  not 

^  Socrat  Hist.  Ecd.,  viL  29. 
^ ^ 


-^ 


August  3.} 


S.  Dalmatius. 


27 


bom  of  Mary,  but  that  he  took  up  his  dwelling  in  the  man 
born  of  Mary."  The  orthodox  took  the  alarm.  The 
patriarch  appealed  to  the  Emperor  to  suppress  them.  A 
council  was  summoned  at  Ephesus.  The  Nestorians 
surrounded  the  place^  stopping  all  communications  with 
Constantinople.  At  length  a  beggar  conveyed  a  letter  from 
the  bishops  assembled  at  Ephesus  to  the  monks  of  Con- 
stantinople, narrating  their  distress.  The  letter  caused  a 
rising  of  all  the  monks.  With  Dalmatius  at  their  head,  who 
for  forty-eight  years  had  not  set  foot  outside  his  monastery, 
they  poured  in  a  long  train  to  the  palace.  The  Emperor 
admitted  the  archimandrites ;  and  they  read  to  him  the 
letter  they  had  received  from  Ephesus. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  if  matters  are  thus,  why  do 
not  some  of  tne  bishops  in  the  council  come  here  to 
complain  ?" 

"Sire!"  replied  Dalmatius,  "they  are  prevented  from 
leaving." 

"  No  one  prevents  them." 

"Yes,  sire,  they  are  prevented.  Those  who  think  with 
Nestorius  have  full  liberty  given  them  to  come  or  go,  but  no 
one  is  suffered  to  approach  your  Piety  on  behalf  of  the  holy 
Synod,  or  inform  you  of  what  is  being  done."  And  he 
added,  "Will  you  hear  six  hundred  bishops,  or  listen  to 
one  impious  man  ?" 

The  Emperor  granted  that  messengers  from  the  council 
should  come  to  Constantinople.  Then  the  archimandrites 
left,  and  conducting  their  train  of  monks,  and  the  crowds 
that  followed,  into  the  church  of  S.  Mocius,  Dalmatius 
ascended  the  pulpit  and  related  what  had  passed.  When  he 
ceased,  all,  with  a  great  shout,  exclaimed,  "  Anathema  to 
Nestorius  !" 

The  bishops  at  Ephesus  sent  a  letter  to  Dalmatius 
thanking  him  for  his  interference  on  their  behalf. 


* 


^^ — — ^ 

28  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

The  history  of  the  council  has  been  given  fully  elsewhere, 
and  need  not  be  repeated  here.  Immediately  after  this  one 
conspicuous  act  of  intervention  in  behalf  of  the  orthodox 
bishops,  Dalmatius  returned  to  his  monaster)',  and  did  not 
leave  it  again  till  his  death. 


SS.  MARANA  AND  CYRA,  RR. 

(5TH    CENT.) 

[Modem  Roman  Martyrology.  In  the  Greek  Menology  of  Basil  and  the 
Menasa  on  Feb.  28.  Authority  : — Mention  by  Theodoret  of  Cyrus,  in  his 
history  written  about  A.D.  440.     He  had  seen  the  women  himself.] 

Marana  and  Cyra,  two  women  of  Bersea,  of  noble 
birth,  left  their  homes,  found  a  little  roofless  hovel  near  the 
city,  walled  up  the  door  with  stones,  plastered  it  over  with 
clay,  and  left  only  a  narrow  slit  for  a  window,  through 
which  they  might  receive  food.  They  only  spoke  to  those 
who  came  to  see  them  once  a  year,  at  Pentecost.  Not 
content  -with  the  squalor  and  solitude  of  their  hut,  they 
loaded  themselves  with  masses  of  iron  which  bent  them 
double. 

Theodoret,  who  narrates  this,  was  wont  to  look  through 
the  chink  at  the  revolting  sight  of  the  ghastly  women  walled 
in,  a  mass  of  filth,  crushed  double  with  great  rings  and  chains 
of  iron.  Thus  they  spent  forty-two  years,  and  then  a  yearning 
came  on  them  to  come  forth  and  visit  Jerusalem.  The  little 
door  was  accordingly  broken  open,  and  they  crawled  forth, 
visited  the  holy  city,  and  crawled  back  again.  Then  they 
went  off  to  visit  the  church  of  S.  Thecla  in  Isauria.  When 
they  died  is  not  known.  They  were,  probably,  alive  still 
when  Theodoret  wrote.  Baronius  has  introduced  them  into 
the  Modern  Roman  Martyrology. 


*^ — ^ 


August  3.1 


S.  Waltheof. 


29 


S.  WALTHEOF,  AB. 
(a.d.   1 160.) 

[Dempster,  in  his  Scottish  Menology,  on  May  22,  July  12,  August  3  and 
4.  August  4  was  the  day  of  his  death,  (he  other  days  were  kept  in  com- 
memoration of  translations.  But  on  August  3  he  is  set  down  in  Whytford's 
and  Wyon's  Anglican  Kalendars,  and  has  been  inserted  in  the  Cistercian 
Menology  of  Chalefont,  and  has  been  given  by  the  Bollandists.  Autho- 
rity : — His  life  by  Jordan  or  Jocelin,  monk  of  Furness,  between  a.d.  1207 
and  1214.] 

William  the  Conqueror  married  his  niece  Judith  to 
Waltheof,  son  of  Siward,  Earl  of  Northumberland.  Waltheof 
and  Judith  had  a  daughter  named  Maude.  Whilst  William 
was  in  Normandy  in  1073,  subjugating  Maine,  Waltheof, 
Earl  Ralph  of  East  Anglia,  and  Earl  Roger  were  feasting  at 
Norwich,  and  filled  with  drink  they  began  to  scoff  at  William 
and  say  that  it  was  unseemly  that  England  should  be 
governed  by  a  bastard.  The  words  were  repeated  to 
\Mlliam  on  his  return,  and  he  seized  the  earls  and  executed 
them.  Maude,  the  daughter  of  Earl  Waltheof,  was  given  in 
marriage  to  Simon  of  Senlis,  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  and  they 
had  two  sons,  one  whom  they  called  Waltheof,  the  subject 
of  this  memoir,  and  Simon,  the  elder. 

The  children  soon  showed  the  difference  of  the  bent  of 
their  natures.  Simon  built  castles  of  tree-boughs,  or  astride 
on  a  bulrush  rode  about  with  another  rush  brandished  in 
his  hand.  But  Waltheof  built  churches  of  pebbles,  and 
imitated  the  gestures  and  song  of  a  priest  saying  mass. 

Simon  of  Senlis  having  incurred  the  anger  of  Henry  I., 
was  banished  the  country,  and  went  a  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  died  abroad.  Maude  was  sent  to  Scotland,  on 
the  death  of  Simon,  to  become  the  Queen  of  King  David,  at 
the  same  time  that  Henry  took  to  wife  Mathilda,  the  sister 
of  David. 

Waltheof  accompanied  his  mother  to  Scotland,  and  was 
shown  the  utmost  kindness  and  the  affection  of  a  father  by 


I 


-* 


30  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

King  David.  There  the  stripling  grew  up,  with  the  desire 
of  becoming  a  monk  and  a  priest  ever  before  his  imagina- 
tion. Once  only  did  his  resolution  v/aver.  There  was  a 
fair  young  girl  in  the  court,  and  he  fell  in  love  with  her, 
confessed  his  passion,  and  they  exchanged  rings.  But  in 
the  evening,  as  he  sat  musing  over  the  fire,  he  thought  of 
earthly  love,  and  weighed  it  in  the  balance  with  the  love  of 
God ;  the  fair  young  face  flickered  before  him  in  the  red 
flames,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  lot  would  be  in  the 
unquenchable  fire  if  he  deserted  his  true  vocation  for  a 
lower  course  of  life.  Then  he  plucked  the  betrothal  ring 
from  his  finger  and  threw  it  into  the  fire. 

If  he  remained  in  Scotland  and  took  holy  orders  he  was 
certain  immediately  to  be  given  numerous  and  rich  benefices. 
It  was  better  for  him  to  go  elsewhere.  He  therefore  rode 
south,  and  coming  to  Nostel  Priory,  in  Yorkshire,  took  the 
habit  of  a  regular  canon  in  the  church  dedicated  to  S. 
Oswald.  There  he  served  as  sacristan,  till  he  was  elected 
Prior  of  Kirkham.  It  was  at  Kirkham  one  day,  as  he  was 
saying  mass,  that  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Real  Pre- 
sence was  miraculously  revealed.  For  as  he  was  elevating 
the  host,  suddenly  he  was  as  in  a  trance,  and  saw  in  his 
hands  the  radiant  form  of  the  infant  Jesus,  with  a  crown  of 
starry  jewels  on  his  head.  He  thought  the  Holy  Child  put 
forth  his  hands  and  stroked  his  hair.  Jordan  of  Furness 
heard  this  from  Everard  the  confessor,  who  had  heard  the 
particulars  from  the  lips  of  Waltheof. 

One  day  a  priest  at  Kirkham  was  saying  mass,  when  a 
great  spider  dropped  into  the  chaHce.  What  was  to  be 
done?  By  coughs  and  scrapings  of  the  feet,*  he  signalled 
to  the  prior  to  come  to  his  assistance.  Waltheof,  "  after 
having  deliberated  in  himself,  and  having  poured  forth  his 
prayer  and  given  his  benediction,  burning  with  the  flame  of 

'  "Tussi  ac  sonitu,  quo  potuit,  priorem  acquisivit." 


-*» 


-»i« 


August  3.] 


S.  Waltheof. 


31 


faith,  bade  the  priest  swallow  the  spider  with  the  contents 
of  the  chalice."  Spiders  in  those  days  were  supposed  to  be 
deadly  poison.  Wonderful  to  relate,  the  priest  survived. 
That  afternoon,  as  he  was  sitting  in  the  cloister  scratching  a 
gathering  he  had  on  his  hand,  he  saw  a  great  black  spider 
run  over  his  fingers,  and  rushed  to  the  conclusion  it  was  the 
creature  he  had  swallowed  in  the  morning  which  had  escaped 
out  of  the  festered  place. 

S.  Malachi,  the  Irish  bishop,  came  to  Kirkham  on  his 
way  through  England  to  Rome.  The  prior  found  he  was  in 
want  of  a  horse,  so  he  gave  him  his  own  horse,  a  sound, 
rough,  grey  cob,  and  said  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  give 
him  a  better  animal,  but  it  was  the  only  one  he  possessed. 
S.  Malachi  gladly  accepted  it.  "  Dear  to  me  shall  be  the 
gift  of  a  kind  heart."  This  horse  eventually  became  quite 
white.  It  was  a  question  agitated  between  Irish  and 
English  monks  whether  the  horse  was  bleached  through  the 
merits  of  S.  Malachi  who  sat  on  him,  or  of  S.  Waltheof  who 
gave  him. 

On  the  vacancy  of  the  archbishopric  of  York,  his  kins- 
man, the  Earl  of  Albemarle,  said  to  him,  "  I  will  use  my 
influence  with  King  Stephen  to  obtain  the  archbishopric  for 
you,  if  you  will  make  over  to  me  the  lands  of  Shirbourne ' 
for  my  life."  The  saintly  prior  answered  with  indignation 
that  he  would  be  no  party  to  such  simoniacal  transactions. 
But  there  was  no  chance  of  the  king  sanctioning  his  promo- 
tion, which  was  talked  of,  for  he  would  favour  no  one  who 
adhered  to  the  party  of  Maude. 

Occasionally  the  Prior  of  Kirkham  rode  to  Rievaulx  to 
visit  S.  ^Ired 
We  know  the  road  he  took 
of  York,  his  horse's  head  was  turned  to  the  Hambledon 
hills,  up  steep  Wath  bank.     Then  over  the  brown  heather, 

'  Near  York 


These  visits  caused  a  change  in  his  life. 
After  leaving  the  broad  vale 


-* 


32  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augun^ 


rousing  grouse  from  their  cover,  the  eye  stretching  over  the 
hills  to  Cleveland,  on  the  north,  and  far  away  over  the  rich 
plain  to  the  west  to  Pendle  Hill,  and  the  setting  sun  glitter- 
ing on  Morecambe  Bay.  Then  a  sudden  fall  in  the  track, 
into  a  deep,  richly-wooded  network  of  valleys,  traversed  by 
the  clearest  of  streams,  and  a  broad  belt  of  the  brightest 
emerald  meadow,  in  the  midst  of  which,  pointing  north  and 
south,  the  grey  limestone  church  of  Rievaulx.  The  situa- 
tion, charming  to  the  tourist  at  the  present  day,  must  have 
exerted  greater  fascination  then,  when  the  bells  rang  from 
tlie  tower  and  white-habited  Cistercians  sang  in  the  choir. 

Waltheof  felt  on  each  visit  to  this  green,  happy  valley, 
shut  in  by  brown  bare  moors,  that  he  could  not  rest  till  he 
was  a  monk.  At  the  advice  of  S.  .^Ired,  he  assumed  the 
Cistercian  habit  in  the  monastery  of  Warden,  in  Lincoln- 
shire. But  when  the  news  reached  his  brother  Simon  and 
his  other  relations,  they  were  so  angry  that  they  threatened 
to  bum  Warden  if  he  did  not  leave  it.  He  was  therefore 
obliged  to  escape  from  it,  and  take  refuge  in  his  dearly- 
loved  Rievaulx. 

In  1 147,  on  the  deposition  of  the  Abbot  Richard  of  Mel- 
rose, Waltheof  was  elected  in  his  room,  and  ruled  with 
gentleness  and  wisdom. 

He  maintained  the  strictest  guard  over  himself  If  his 
mind  wandered  for  a  moment  to  any  frivolous  matter,  if  he 
uttered  a  word  which  was  not  edifying,  or  spent  a  minute  in 
idleness,  he  rushed  at  once  to  his  confessors.  "  And  as 
this  took  place  ten  or  more  times  a  day,  he  overwhelmed 
his  confessors  with  immense  weariness  through  such  con- 
stant repetitions,  as  they  have  told  me  themselves.  Master 
Everard,  first  Abbot  of  Holm  Cultram,  told  me,  that  one  day'as 
he  was  travelling  with  this  man  of  God,  a  horsefly  sat  on 
Waltheof  s  neck  or  hand,  and  he  kept  on  flapping  it  away 
with  his  sleeves,  but  the  Hy  mcessantly  returned.     At  last, 


*- 


-* 


August  3.] 


^.  Waltheof, 


33 


giving  a  more  violent  slap,  he  killed  it.  Then  clambering 
down  from  his  horse,  Waltheof  flung  himself  prostrate  by 
the  dead  fly  before  the  abbot  and  confessed  his  sin  in  having 
killed  a  creature  of  God,  which  he  was  unable  to  restore 
to  life  again.  The  abbot  smiled,  and  gave  him  a  very  light 
penance.  But  he  lamented  more  for  the  murder  of  the  gad- 
fly than  many  do  for  efiusion  of  human  blood." 

After  the  lapse  of  some  years,  Waltheof  revisited  Rievaulx. 
He  arrived  at  noon  one  summer's  day.  All  was  hushed 
within.  The  brethren  were  asleep,  taking  the  brief  slumber 
accorded  at  that  hour  by  their  rule.  The  Abbot  of  Melrose 
would  not  jangle  the  bell,  and  disturb  their  repose,  but  sit- 
ting down  without,  fell  asleep,  whilst  waiting.  And  in 
dream  he  saw  his  old  friend  William,  who  had  been  Abbot 
of  Rievaulx,  approach  in  shining  clothes,  with  a  crown  of 
Paradise  on  his  head,  who  said  to  him,  "  As  long  as  the 
monks  keep  the  rule  and  live  soberly,  thrice  a  year  will  I 
revisit  my  monastery,  and  see  that  all  within  is  well."  Say- 
ins:  which  he  vanished. 

Waltheof  died,  after  a  sickness  of  excruciating  pain,  on 
August  the  4th,  1 160. 

In  the  Chronicon  de  Mailros,  at  the  year  1171,  is  the 
record  of  the  opening  of  his  tomb,  and  the  discovery  of  his 
body  uncorrupt,  by  Ingehram,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  and  four 
abbots. 


VOL.  IX. 


-* 


^4 ^ 

34  Lives  of  the  Saiiits.  [August  4. 


August  4. 

S.  Aristarchus,  disciple  ofS.  Paul;  zsi  cent 

S.  Eleutherius,  M.  at  Tarsica,  in  Bithynia;  circ.  A.D.  308. 

S.  EuDOCiA,  M.  in  Persia;  circ.  A.D.  360. 

SS.  I A  AND  CoMi>.,  MM.  in  Persia;  circ.  a.d.  360. 

S.  MOLUA,  Ab.  ofClonfert,  in  Ireland;  A.D.  606. 

S.  Regnier,  Abp.,  M.  ofSpalato,  in  Dalmatia;  a.d.  1180. 

S.  Dominic,  C,  Founder  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  at  Bologtta;  a.d.  1221. 

S.  ARISTARCHUS. 
(tst  cent.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Usuardus,  and  the  Martyrologium  Parvum.  B} 
the  Greeks,  along  with  Pudens  and  Trophimus  on  April  14,  and  on  Septem- 
ber 27  with  S.  Mark  and  S.  Zenas.    Authority  : — The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.] 

RISTARCHUS,  a  Thessalonian,  accompanied 
S.  Paul  on  his  third  missionary  journey.  He  was 
with  the  apostle  on  his  return  to  Asia;  and  again 
on  his  voyage  to  Rome.     We  trace  him  afterwards 

as  S.  Paul's  fellow-prisoner  in  Col.  iv.    lo,  and  Philem.  24. 

Greek   traditions  make  him  Bishop  of  Apamea  in   Syria, 

"  a  man  of  great  sanctity,  another  John,  feeding  on  locusts 

and  wild  honey." 


S.  ELEUTHERIUS,  M. 
(about  a.d.  308.) 

[Greek  Mensea  ;  modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Authority  : — A  late  life 
in  Greek,  probably  a  panegyric  preached  on  the  festival  of  the  saint  in 
the  church  dedicated  to  him  at  Tarsia.  J 

Eleutherius  was  chamberlain  of  the  Emperor  Maximian. 

He  had  long  inclined  to  Christianity,  and  had  been  instructed 

in  the  faith,  but  was  not  baptized. 


-* 


August  4,] 


S.  Eleutherius. 


ZS 


But  at  length  he  resolved  to  receive  the  washing  of 
regeneration,  and  for  that  purpose  asked  leave  to  visit  his 
estate  in  the  country  for  change  of  air.  He  was  then 
baptized,  and  he  contrived  secretly  the  construction  of  a 
subterranean  church  to  which  access  was  only  obtained  by 
descending  a  well. 

On  his  return  to  court,  Maximian  asked  him  why  his 
absence  had  been  so  prolonged  ?  He  replied  that  the  air 
of  his  villa  was  salubrious,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  be  away 
"  from  the  smoke  and  dust  of  a  city."  Maximian  laughingly 
said,  he  would  much  like  also  to  make  long  holidays  in  the 
country,  but  he  had  duties  to  attend  to  which  prevented 
him.  One  of  the  servants  of  Eleutherius,  hoping  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  Emperor,  privately  told  Maximian  that  his 
master  had  become  a  worshipper  of  the  Crucified.  Maximian 
then  professed  a  wish  to  visit  the  villa  of  his  chamberlain, 
and  was  invited  thither. 

Whilst  there,  his  eyes  spied  every  corner,  and  he  soon 
detected  the  well,  the  mouth  of  which  was  covered. 

*'  What  is  that,  Eleutherius  ?" 

"An  old  dry  well.  Sire." 

"Some  one  get  a  rope  and  go  down  it."  Maximian 
knew  of  the  catacombs  of  Rome  used  as  churches.  A  man 
descended,  found  a  passage,  and  came  on  a  chapel  with  a  rich 
altar  and  numerous  burning  lamps.  The  Emperor  imme- 
diately ordered  the  head  of  Eleutherius  to  be  smitten  oif. 

As  soon  as  Constantine  had  conquered  Licinius,  the 
Christians  built  a  church  on  the  spot  over  the  body  of  the 
martyr. 


3— » 


L' 


36  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4. 

SS.  lA  AND  OTHERS,  MM. 

(about   A.D.    360.) 

[Roman  Martyrology  and  Greek  Menaea.  Authority : — The  authentic 
Greek  Acts.] 

In  the  terrible  persecution  of  the  Christians  that  raged  in 
Persia  under  King  Sapor,  there  was  a  holy  Greek  woman,  a 
captive,  who  exerted  herself  to  gain  converts  to  Christ 
The  Persian  women  listened  to  her  words,  and  the  flame  of 
faith  was  kindled  in  their  dark  hearts.  The  efforts  and  success 
of  la  attracted  the  attention  of  some  of  the  magi,  and  she 
was  denounced  to  the  king,  who  ordered  her  execution. 
She  was  stripped,  four  men  took  hold  of  her  hands  and  feet, 
and  dragged  them  apart,  whilst  another  beat  her  back  till  it 
was  raw.  But  she,  in  her  anguish,  prayed  and  sang  to  God, 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  the  living  God,  strengthen  thy 
handmaiden  in  the  conflict  in  which  she  is  engaged,  and 
save  me  from  the  wolves  who  rend  my  flesh." 

When  she  could  no  longer  speak,  she  was  cast  into 
prison,  and  left  there  for  two  months,  till  she  was  restored 
to  health.  She  was  then  brought  out  again,  and,  as  she 
refused  to  renounce  Christ,  she  was  ordered  to  fresh 
torments.  She  was  pulled  forth  as  before,  and  beaten  with 
forty  apple  rods  full  of  knots,  so  that  her  flesh  was  mangled, 
and  the  blood  streamed  on  the  ground.  She  was  then 
taken  back  to  prison,  and  left  there  for  six  months.  When 
cured  she  was  brought  forth  again,  but  still  the  invincible 
woman  remained  firm.  Sharp  slips  of  reed  were  then  stuck 
ii)to  her  flesh  all  over  her  body,  and  she  was  wound  round 
with  cord,  driving  them  into  the  flesh.  After  that,  each 
was  leisurely  plucked  out,  followed  by  a  spout  of  blood. 
By  this  time,  however,  she  was  completely  unconscious,  and 
lay  on  the  ground  like  a  corpse. 

With  inhuman  cruelty  she  was  given  respite  for  ten  days, 
and  then  brought  out  again,  hung  up,  and  beaten  with  wire 

ii< _ — _,j, 


thongs  till  all  the  flesh  was  lashed  off  her  bones,  when, 
being  dead,  her  head  was  cut  off,  and  the  heap  of  flesh  and 
bones  was  swept  ignominiously  away. 

Shortly  before  the  martyrdom  of  S.  la,  the  aged  bishop 
Heliodorus  died  in  prison,  but  not  till  he  had  consecrated 
the  priest  Dosa  to  be  bishop  in  his  room.  Dosa  was  taken 
and  extcuted  with  the  sword.  Many  others  sufitered  at  the 
same  time.  A  church  was  built  to  S.  la  at  Constantinople, 
probably  as  soon  as  the  news  of  her  martyrdom  reached  the 
imperial  city.  In  the  reign  of  Justinian  it  was  in  ruins  from 
age,  and  he  rebuilt  it 


S.  MOLUA  OF  CLONFERT,  AB. 

(a.d.  606.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.     Authority  : — A  late  life.] 

LuAiD,  or  Molua,  whose  name  has  been  Latinized  into 
Lugidus,  belonged  to  the  distinguished  family  of  Hy-Figinte, 
a  district  of  Munster.  His  father  was  Cathar,  surnamed 
Coche,  and  his  mother  Sochla,  a  native  of  Ossory.  In  his 
childhood  he  was  a  disciple  of  S.  Finnian  at  Clonard. 
Afterwards  he  passed  under  the  direction  of  S.  Comgall  at 
Bangor  (circ.  a.d.  559).  Under  this  great  master  he 
remained  for,  probably,  a  considerable  time,  and.  having 
embraced  the  monastic  life,  became  so  distinguished  by  his 
virtue  and  abilities,  that  Comgall,  finding  him  duly  qualified 
for  governing  others,  directed  him  to  form  an  establish- 
ment for  himself,  and  to  nourish  the  servants  of  Christ. 
Accordingly  Luaid  returned  to  Munster,  and  repaired  with 
some  disciples  to  Mount  Luachra,  in  the  county  of  Limerick 
Wishing  to  establish  himself  in  that  district,  he  was  advised 
to  remain  there  by  the  king,  who  was  a  worthy.  God-fearing 
man,  named  Foelan.     He  then  removed  from  that  country, 


^ 


38 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  4. 


and  went  to  Slievebloom,  near  where  his  maternal  relatives 
resided,  and  erected  a  monastery  at  a  place  since  called 
Clonfert  Molua,  now  Clonfert  MuUoe,  to  which  a  vast 
number  of  monks  resorted  from  various  parts,  who  were  all 
received  mth  kindness  by  Luaid.  Afterwards  he  returned  to 
Hy-Figinte,  where  he  founded  several  cells  and  monasteries. 
He  is  said  to  have  established  many  other  religious  houses, 
but  some  of  them  were  probably  founded  by  his  disciples. 
Molua  or  Luaid  drew  up  a  Rule  for  his  monks,  which,  we 
are  told,  was  read  and  approved  by  Pope  Gregory  the  Great. 
One  of  his  regulations  was  the  perpetual  exclusion  of  women 
from  the  monastery  of  Clonfert  Molua. 

The  church  of  Killaloe,  in  Irish  Kill-do-Lua,  or  cell  of 
Lua,  is  supposed  to  have  got  its  name  from  the  saint,  either 
from  his  having  lived  there  for  some  time,  or  from  its  having 
been  dedicated  in  his  name.  This  is  not  improbable, 
though  far  from  certain.  It  has  been  said  by  some  writers, 
that  Molua  was  afflicted  with  leprosy,  or  some  cutaneous 
disorder,  for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life ;  but  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  Molua,  surnamed  the  Leper,  was  a 
different  person,  and  the  real  Molua  of  Killaloe. 

A  short  time  before  his  death  he  is  said  to  have  called 
upon  Dagan,  Bishop  of  Achad-Dagan,  for  the  purpose  of 
consulting  him  as  to  the  appointment  of  a  successor  for  his 
monastery.  Dagan  told  him  that  he  would  be  succeeded 
by  Lactan,  a  choice  with  which  he  was  highly  pleased. 
S.  Molua  departed  this  life  not  long  after  the  beginning  of 
the  seventh  century,  according  to  the  annals  of  the  Four 
Masters  in  a.d.  605  (606). 

Two  anecdotes  of  the  saint  deserve  repetition.  He  had 
under  his  rule  a  monk  who  lived  in  a  cell  by  himself,  and 
would  not  allow  another  to  live  with  him.  S.  Molua  went 
to  him  one  day,  and  found  him  seated  by  the  fire.  "  Come," 
said  the  monk,  "  sit  you  down  by  me  and  warm  your  toes, 


-* 


August  4.] 


S.  Molua. 


39 


it  is  mighty  cold."  The  abbot  did  so.  Then  the  monk 
went  out  on  some  business,  and  bade  Molua  remain  by  the 
fire  till  his  return.  When  he  came  back,  he  found  the 
abbot  running  round  the  fire,  and  toasting  himself  now  here, 
now  there.  "  And  what  is  it  you  are  after,  father?"  asked 
the  monk.  "  Sure  it's  a  pity  that  one  should  not  get  all  the 
good  out  of  such  a  beautiful  fire  that  one  can,"  answered 
the  abbot;  "so  I'm  making  the  most  of  both  sides  of  the 
blaze ;  it  is  a  pity  to  waste  good  heat."  Then  the  monk 
understood  that  the  abbot  was  hinting  to  him  that  a  fire 
that  would  warm  one  man  would  warm  two  very  well.  So 
he  agreed  to  let  another  share  his  house. 

There  joined  his  community  a  bard  named  Conan.  He 
could  make  poetry,  but  not  work  with  his  hands.  He  did 
not  know  how  to  set  about  it.  "  Will  you  come  with  me 
and  take  a  lesson?"  said  Abbot  Molua.  "With  the  greatest 
satisfaction,"  answered  Conan.  So  Molua  got  a  sickle,  and 
away  he  went  A\ith  the  bard,  till  they  came  to  a  meadow  full 
of  thistles.  "  It's  a  great  pity  there  is  such  a  forest  of  these 
weeds  here,"  said  the  abbot.  "  Let  us  set  to  work  and  cut 
them  down.  There,"  said  he,  putting  the  sickle  into  Conan's 
hand,  "  you  just  take  the  instrument  thus,  and  up  with  it  so, 
and  in  a  moment  the  thistle  is  gone.  That  is  the  way  to  do  it !" 
he  exclaimed,  as  Conan  smote  the  thistle,  and  it  fell  prostrate. 

"  It  is  a  noble  stroke  of  work,"  said  the  abbot.  "Give 
me  the  sickle  and  we  will  go  home." 

"  Shall  we  not  cut  down  more  ?" 

*'  No,  we  have  done  our  day's  work," 

So  next  day  they  went  to  the  meadow,  and  Conan  cut 
down  two  thistles,  and  next  day  three,  and  at  last  he  could 
cut  down  as  many  thistles  in  a  day  as  he  could  make  bad 
verses,  and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 

His  biographer  tells  us  that  when  Molua  was  a  boy  he 
made  sloe  wine  in  a  bottle,  and  every  one  who  tasted  it  got 


-* 


*- 


40 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  4. 


-* 


tipsy  off  it,  which  was  certainly  a  miracle.  His  father  one 
day  was  very  drunk  for  seven  hours,  and  when  he  came 
round,  assured  his  wife  he  had  not  tasted  a  drop  of  anything, 
but  had  only  inhaled  the  breath  of  his  sleeping  babe  as  he 
stooped  over  him  to  kiss  him.  His  wife  believed  it,  so  did  his 
biographer,  who  relates  the  circumstance  as  miraculous, 
that  a  man  should  get  drunk  for  seven  hours  off  a  baby's 
breath.  But  the  miracle  seems  to  be  that  any  one  believed 
the  word  of  Molua's  father. 


S.  DOMINIC,  C. 

(a.d.  I 22 1.) 

("Roman  Martyrology.  Canonized  by  Gregory  IX.  in  1233,  and  his 
festival  appointed  for  August  5.  Paul  III.,  however,  threw  it  back 
to  August  4,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  feast  of  Our  Lady 
of  the  Snows.  Authorities  : — i.  Jordan  of  Saxony  wrote  the  first  life  of  S.  Do- 
minic before  his  canonization,  1233  ;  2.  an  encyclical  letter  on  the  trans- 
lation of  the  blessed  Dominic,  also  by  Jordan  of  Saxony,  written  about 
1234  ;  3.  the  Acts  of  Bologna,  containing  the  evidence  of  nine  of  his  dis- 
ciples concerning  his  miracles  and  %'irtues,  dated  August  30,  1233  ;  4.  the 
Acts  of  Toulouse,  containing  the  testimony  of  twenty-six  persons  to  his  acts 
during  the  twelve  years  he  was  in  Languedoc  ;  5.  the  Life  of  the  Blessed 
Dominic,  by  Constantine  de'  Medicis,  B.  of  Orueto,  written  between  1242  and 
1247  ;  6.  a  Life  written  by  the  Blessed  Humbert,  general  of  the  order,  written 
before  1254  ;  7.  the  Chronicle  of  the  Friars  Preachers,  by  the  same  Hum- 
bert, June,  1202 — 1254  ;  8.  a  Life  by  Bartholomew  of  Trent,  written  between 
1234 — 1251  ;  9.  Lives  of  the  Friars  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  by  Gerard  de 
Frachet,  drawn  up  by  order  of  the  general  chapter  at  Paris,  in  1256  ;  10. 
the  Narrative  of  Sister  Cecilia,  one  of  the  nuns  under  the  direction  of 
S.  Dominic.  Cecilia  related  all  the  particulars  of  the  saint  that  she  could  re- 
member to  Sister  Angelica,  who  wrote  them  down  under  her  eye  ;  11.  the 
Vatican  Chronicle  from  the  beginning  of  the  order  to  1263;  12.  "The 
Seven  Gifts  of  the  Spirit,"  by  Stephen  de  Bourbon,  who  died  a.d.  1261, 
contains  many  anecdotes  of  S.  Dominic  ;  13.  the  Life  of  S.  Dominic,  by 
Rodriquez  de  Cerrati,  written  about  a.d.  1266  ;  14.  a  Life  by  Thierry 
d'Apolda  in  1288.  It  is  unnecessary  to  mention  later  lives.  A  list  of  all 
available  sources  of  information  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Pere  Lacor- 
daire's  Life  of  S.  Dominic] 

In  a  dream  one  night  Innocent  III.,  it  is  reported,  saw  the 

great   edifice  of  the   Church   tottering   to   its  fall.     Then 


-* 


S.  DOMINIC. 


Aug.,  p.  40.] 


[Aug.  4. 


August  4-] 


kS".  Dominic, 


41 


suddenly  there  emerged  from  obscurity  two  men,  one  in 
grey,  rope-girdled,  the  other  in  white  with  black  cloak,  and 
held  up  the  falling  building.  He  recognised  afterwards  in 
the  faces  of  S.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  S.  Dominic,  the  stays 
of  the  Church.  And,  to  all  appearances,  the  Church  was 
crumbling  down  when  they  arose,  springing  up  from 
different  quarters,  without  concert,  to  avert  the  threatening 
ruin. 

The  Church  was  rich ;  ecclesiastics  were  well  fed ;  their 
flocks  star\'ed  for  the  bread  of  life.  Preaching  was  the 
prerogative  of  the  bishops ;  it  was  not  entrusted  to  priests. 
And  the  bishops  lived  only  in  cities,  in  the  midst  of 
splendour,  mixed  up  with  political  concerns,  too  careless  or 
too  busy  to  teach.  The  sacraments  of  the  Church  may  have 
been,  and  probably  were,  ministered  ^vath  regularity  in  the 
parish  churches,  but  there  was  no  instruction  to  make  men 
value  them,  no  heart-stirring  appeals  to  their  conscience  to 
make  them  repent  of  sin  and  turn  to  God.  The  crying  scandal 
and  want  of  the  times  were — the  scandal  of  the  wealth,  luxury, 
indolence  of  the  clergy,  and  the  want  of  instruction.  Francis 
of  Assisi  founded  an  order  of  Mendicants,  of  men  full  of  zeal 
for  poverty,  hating  riches,  shunning  idleness  ;  Dominic  of 
Caraloga  instituted  a  Society  of  Preachers. 

The  scandal  and  the  want  indicated  had  caused  deep 
disaffection  in  Languedoc  and  Northern  Italy.  The  cruel 
persecution  of  the  Manichaeans  by  the  Eastern  emperors 
had  sent  successive  waves  of  these  heretics  into  Western 
Europe,  They  penetrated  it  in  two  streams,  one  by  way  of 
Bohemia,  where  the  Bulgarians,  Beghards,  formed  obscure, 
yet  dangerous  sects,  the  centres  of  activity  whence  sprang 
the  great  revolt  of  the  Hussites  in  later  days  ;  the  others 
came  by  way  of  the  sea,  and  inundated  Lombardy  and  Lan- 
guedoc ;  in  Lombardy  they  were  known  as  the  Patarines, 
in  I^anguedoc  as  the  Albigenses.     Their  zeal,  pure  morals, 


,  1 


-* 


^& * 

42  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4. 

earnest  preaching,  and  the  simplicity  of  their  system  drew 
multitudes  to  them,  and  the  Church  in  the  south  of  France 
trembled  to  find  itself  outnumbered  by  sectaries,  who,  if  they 
taught  strange  doctrine,  lived  good  lives ;  if  they  were  not 
Christians — as  they  certainly  were  not — yet  put  to  shame 
those  who  were. 

How  was  this  devastating  heresy  to  be  met  ?  Man  had 
his  scheme ;  God  had  one  very  different.  The  Pope 
summoned  a  crusade,  and  the  pleasant  fields  of  Toulouse 
and  Provence  became  a  slaughter-house,  from  which  the 
smoke  of  blood  went  up  to  Heaven  \  but  He  who  promised 
to  be  ever  with  His  Church,  who  warned  His  disciples  not  to 
gather  up  the  tares  out  of  the  field  lest  they  should  pluck  up 
the  wheat  with  them,  He  met  the  evil  otherwise.  "  The 
Spirit  of  God  breatheth  where  He  wills,  and  thou  canst  not 
tell  whence  He  cometh  or  whither  He  goeth."  From  Italy 
and  Spain  God  called  up  two  men  to  the  work,  very  diffe- 
rent in  character,  but  one  in  earnestness  of  purpose  and 
grasp  of  the  situation. 

Dominic  was  born  in  11 70,  at  Caraloga,  half-way  between 
Aranda  and  Osma,  in  Old  Castile.  His  parents  were  of 
noble  name,  that  of  Guzman,  if  not  of  noble  race.  His 
mother — so  runs  the  legend — dreamed  before  his  birth  that 
she  bore  a  dog  with  a  torch  in  his  mouth,  which  set  the 
world  on  fire.  But  this  was  an  after  fable,  originating  in  the 
fact  that  the  Dominicans,  by  a  pleasant  pun,  were  styled,  or 
styled  themselves,  Domini-canes,  the  Lord's  dogs.  And 
when  the  Inquisitorial  power,  with  its  terrors  and  tragedies, 
was  lodged  in  their  hands,  the  torch  which  kindled  so  many 
pyres  and  consumed  so  many  heretics,  became  an  intelligible 
adjunct  to  their  symbolical  animal. 

His  votaries  borrowed  also  the  old  classical  fable;  the 
bees  settled  on  his  lips,  foreshowing  his  exquisite  eloquence. 
Even  in  his  infancy,  his  severe  nature,  among  other  wonders 

* ^ 


August  4.] 


•S.  Dominic. 


43 


-* 


began  to  betray  itself.  He  crept  from  his  soft  couch  to  lie 
on  the  hard  ground. 

The  first  part  of  his  education  Dominic  received  from  his 
uncle,  a  churchman,  at  Gamiel  d'Izan,  At  fifteen  he  was 
sent  to  the  university  of  Palencia,  where  he  studied,  chiefly 
theology,  for  ten  years.  Two  stories  are  recorded  of  this 
period,  which  show  the  dawn  of  religious  strength  in  his 
character.  During  a  famine  he  sold  his  clothes,  more 
precious  still,  his  books  covered  with  his  annotations,  to 
feed  the  poor.  When  remonstrated  with,  "How  can  I 
peruse  dead  parchment  when  breathing  men  are  perishing  ?" 
was  his  noble  answer. 

He  met  a  woman  weeping  because  her  brother  was  a 
slave  among  the  Moors :  his  enthusiastic  charity  would 
have  made  him  sell  himself  to  purchase  his  redemption,  had 
not  his  friends  interfered.  Simple  and  pure  of  heart,  he 
found  pleasure  in  the  bright  prattle  of  young  girls,  rather 
than  in  the  querulous  gossip  of  old  women,  but  the  sweet 
flower  of  his  childlike  modesty  was  never  injured,  as  it  never 
need  be,  by  such  association.' 

This  is  all  we  know  of  the  youth  of  Dominic.  A  few 
precious  fruit,  which  the  late  gleaner  finds  on  the  trees,  after 
the  harvest  is  passed — according  to  the  graceful  thought  of 
Lacordaire. 

The  Bisliop  of  Osma  had  changed  his  chapter  into  regular 
canons,  those  who  lived  in  common,  and  under  a  rule 
approaching  to  a  monastic  institute.  Chrodegang  of  Metz 
had  first  thus  transformed  his  chapter,  and  the  example 
spread  through  the  West.  Without  rule,  the  clergy  attached 
to  a  cathedral  were  under  no  discipline,  and  took  advantage 
of    their    liberty   to   neglect   their    duties.       The    bishop 

'  "  Ubi  semetipsum  assent  in  integritate  carnis  divina  gratia  conservatum,  nondum 
illam  imperfectionem  evadere  potuisset,  quia  magis  afficiebatur  juvencularum  collo- 
quiis  quam  affatibus  vetularum."  This  passage  was  carefully  erased  from  the  life  of 
the  saint  by  the  chapter  of  his  order.     See  ActaSanct.  Aug.  4,  Vit.  S.  Dominic,  c.  1. 


^i * 

44  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4 

appointed  as  his  prior  Diego  de  Azevedo,  and  conferred  a 
canonry  on  Dominic,  when  twenty-five  years  old.  "  Then," 
says  Jordan  of  Saxony,  "he  began  to  shine  among  the 
canons,  his  brethren,  as  a  torch  that  burns,  the  first  in 
sanctity,  the  last  by  his  humility,  shedding  around  him  the 
odour  of  a  life-giving  life,  a  fragrance  like  the  incense  tree 
in  the  summer  weather.  ...  He  spent  night  and  day 
in  the  church,  watching,  without  rest,  with  prayer,  scarcely 
showing  himself  outside  the  cloister,  lest  he  should  lose 
leisure  for  his  contemplations.  God  had  given  to  him  grace 
to  pray  for  sinners,  the  unfortunate  and  the  afilictedj  he 
carried  their  sorrows  into  the  inner  sanctuary  of  his  com- 
passion, and  this  sad  love,  oppressing  his  heart,  broke  forth 
in  tears.  It  was  his  habit,  rarely  interrupted,  to  pass  the 
night  in  prayer  and  communion  with  God,  his  door  closed. 
Sometimes  his  voice  was  heard  in  low  moanings  coming 
from  his  troubled  heart.  His  incessant  prayer  was  for  a 
true  charity,  a  love  which  would  be  ready  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing for  the  good  of  other  men,  for  he  was  well  persuaded 
that  he  could  not  be  a  true  member  of  Christ  unless  he 
devoted  himself  v.'ith  all  his  powers  to  win  souls." 

Dominic  remained  at  Osma  nine  years^  devoid  of  incident. 
Diego  de  Azevedo  had  succeeded  to  the  Bishopric  of  Osma 
(a.d.  1 201).  He  was  a  prelate  of  great  abiUty,  and  of  strong 
religious  enthusiasm.  He  was  sent  to  Denmark  to  negotiate 
the  marriage  of  Alfonso  VIII.  of  Castile  with  a  princess  of 
that  kingdom.  He  chose  the  congenial  Dominic  as  his 
companion.  No  sooner  had  they  crossed  the  Pyrenees, 
than  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  the  Albigensian 
heresy;  they  could  not  close  their  eyes  to  the  contempt 
into  which  the  clergy  had  fallen,  or  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
sectaries ;  their  very  host  at  Toulouse  was  an  Albigensian. 
Dominic  sat  up  all  night  with  him,  controverting  his  doctrines, 
enlightening  him  on  the  great  truths  of  the  Christian  religion; 


August  4,) 


S.  Dominic, 


45 


-* 


and  he  did  not  leave  till  the  man  had  submitted  to  acknow- 
ledge his  errors  and  re-enter  the  fold  of  the  Church. 

The  mission  of  the  bishop  in  Denmark  was  frustrated  by 
the  unexpected  death  of  the  princess. 

Before  he  returned  to  Spain  Azevedo,  with  his  companion, 
resolved  upon  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  The  character  of  the 
Bishop  of  Osma  appears  from  his  proposal  to  Pope  Innocent, 
He  wished  to  abandon  his  bishopric,  and  devote  himself  to 
the  perilous  life  of  a  missionary  in  Hungary.  That  Dominic 
would  have  been  his  companion  in  this  adventurous  spiritual 
enterprise  none  can  doubt.  Innocent  commanded  the  bishop 
to  return  to  his  diocese.  On  their  way,  the  bishop  and 
Dominic  stopped  at  Montpellier.  There  they  encountered, 
in  all  their  pomp,  the  three  Legates  of  the  Pope,  Abbot 
Arnold  of  Citeaux,  the  Brother  Raoul,  and  Peter  of 
Castelnau.  They  had  been  invested  by  the  Pope  with 
extraordinary  powers  to  suppress  heresy  and  punish  the 
excesses  of  the  clergy.  They  deposed  the  Bishop  of  Verviers, 
and  suspended  the  Bishop  of  Beziers  for  refusing  to  excom- 
municate at  their  command  the  magistrates  of  his  city. 
They  ordered  the  Count  of  Toulouse  to  expel  all  heretics 
out  of  the  land.  The  Papal  Legates  travelled  through  the 
country  in  the  utmost  splendour  and  luxury,  with  a  vast 
cavalcade  of  horses  and  sumpter  mules,  and  a  retinue  in 
rich  attire.  Their  exhortations  and  their  sermons  were  met 
with  derision.  At  Toulouse,  on  their  return  from  the 
circuit,  they  were  met  by  Diego  de  Azevedo  and  Dominic, 
and  to  them  lamented  their  want  of  success.  They  could 
neither  convince  the  sectaries,  nor  induce  their  sovereign  to 
expel  or  exterminate  them.  "  How  expect  success  with  this 
secular  pomp  ?"  replied  the  Spaniards.  "  Sow  the  good  seed 
as  the  heretics  sow  tares.  Cast  off  these  gorgeous  robes, 
renounce  these  richly  caparisoned  palfreys;  go  barefoot, 
without    purse    or    scrip,   like   the   Apostles;   out-labour, 


-* 


-* 


4^  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  4. 


out-fast,  out-discipline  these  false  teachers."  The  Spaniards 
were  not  content  with  these  stern  admonitions ;  the  Bishop 
of  Osma  and  his  faithful  Dominic  sent  back  their  own 
horses,  stripped  themselves  to  the  modest  monastic  gaber- 
dine, and  led  the  way  on  the  spiritual  campaign.  The 
Legates  were  constrained  to  follow.  Arnold  of  Citeaux,  the 
abbot  of  abbots,  was  a  man  whose  heart  was  sheathed  with 
the  triple  iron  of  pride,  cruelty,  and  bigotry.  Of  his  sayings 
one  has  been  preserved  by  a  brother  Cistercian.  When 
the  crusaders,  under  his  direction,  were  massacring  with 
every  conceivable  atrocity  Catholics  as  well  as  Albigensians, 
in  the  memorable  infamous  taking  of  Beziers  a  messenger 
came  running  to  record  this  indiscriminate  butchery,  and 
ask  for  orders.  "  Kill  all,"  answered  the  abbot,  "  God  will 
know  his  own."*  Brother  Raoul  was  an  obsequious  follower. 
Peter  of  Castelnau  was  perhaps  made  of  better  stuff.  At 
least,  he  died  courageously  enough  for  his  faith,  and  dying 
forgave  his  murderers.  After  his  mission  among  the  heretics 
had  failed,  the  Abbot  of  Citeaux  departed  for  Burgundy, 
making  the  excuse  that  he  had  a  chapter  of  his  order  to 
attend-  but  the  two  other  legates,  Don  Diego  and  Dominic, 
set  forth  on  foot  for  Narbonne  and  Toulouse.  They  tarried 
in  the  towns  and  villages,  preaching  in  the  churches  till  they 
had  made  some  impression,  holding  public  conferences  with 
the  heretics  in  the  market-places. 

But  the  party  suffered  a  further  diminution.  Peter  of 
Castelnau  found  this  new  system  of  conducting  a  mission 
irksome ;  and  under  the  excuse  that  it  was  dangerous  for 
him  to  expose  his  life  among  exasperated  heretics,  he  also 
withdrew. 

The  story  is  told  that,  in  one  of  the  conferences,  each  party 
appeared  with  their  arguments  written  out  in  full  on  parch- 
ment.   Neither  party  would  plead  conviction  by  the  reasoning 

'  CsRsarius  Heisterb.  Dial.  Mirac.  Dist.  v.  c.  21. 


-* 


Augif;t  4.] 


S.  Dominic, 


47 


-* 


of  the  other,  and  it  was  decided  to  throw  both  documents 
into  a  fire.  It  is  said  that  the  arguments  of  the  heretics 
were  consumed  in  the  flame,  but  those  of  Dominic  exhibited 
miraculous  incombustibihty.  But  on  the  whole  the  mission 
was  a  failure.  Great  results  were  not  to  be  expected  all  at 
once  ;  scandals  were  too  recent,  neglect  of  their  duties  too 
common,  among  the  clergy  to  be  forgotten  immediately. 
Churchmen  became  impatient.  The  pomp  of  the  Papal 
Legates  had  not  dazzled,  the  enthusiasm  of  Diego  and 
Dominic  had  not  convinced,  the  Albigenses.  Raymond  of 
Rabesten  was  Bishop  of  Toulouse;  his  tolerant  and  easy 
disposition  rendered  him  an  unfit  person  to  occupy  such  a 
distinguished  position  when  sharp  measures  of  unusual 
severity  were  meditated.  Upon  the  charge  of  simony  he 
was  deposed  by  a  decree  of  the  Pope,  and  Foulques  of 
Marseilles  was  elevated  in  his  room.  This  man  had  been  a 
gay  troubadour — his  amorous  poems  in  Provencal  have  been 
preserved.  He  was  a  married  man,  but  formed  an  ardent 
attachment  for  Azalais,  the  wife  of  Barral  de  Baux,  Seigneur 
of  Marseilles.  The  lady,  finding  that  the  gallant  Foulques 
showed  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  another  lady,  Laura  de  Saint- 
Jorlan,  the  sister  of  her  husband,  dismissed  him.  In  a  fit 
of  despondency,  Foulques  took  monastic  vows  in  the 
Cistercian  Monastery  of  Toronet,  and  was  elected  abbot  in 
1200,  when  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  old.  Five  years 
after,  he  was  fixed  upon  as  a  suitable  person  to  succeed 
Raymond  de  Rabesten\  His  licentious  fires  blazed  forth 
in   a  fury  of  religious   intolerance.      There   is   no   act   of 

'  Hist.  Litteraire  de  la  France,  xviii.  p.  586,  &c.  "  Apres  avoir  donne  la  moitie 
de  sa  vie  i  la  galanterie,  il  livra  sans  retenue  I'autre  moitid  k  la  cause  de  tyrannic,  du 
meurtre,  et  de  spoliation,  et  malheureusement  il  en  profita."  "Your holiness  is 
greatly  deceived  in  the  Bishop  of  Toulouse,"  said  the  Count  de  Foix  to  Pope  Inno- 
cent ;  "  under  show  of  good  faith  and  amity  he  is  always  concerting  treachery  :  his 
actions  are  devilish :  through  his  malignity  the  city  of  Toulouse  has  suffered  ruin, 
waste,  and  robbery  :  more  than  ten  thousand  men  have  perished  through  him." 
Documents  inedits  sur  I'Hist.  de  France  ;  Fauriel,  la  Chronique  des  Albigeois, 
P-  2*  J- 


-^ 


)^ ^ 

48  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4. 

treachery  or  cruelty  throughout  the  war  in  which  the  Bishop 
of  Toulouse  was  not  the  most  fonvard,  sanguinary,  unscru- 
pulous. 

The  murder  of  Peter  of  Castelnau  occasioned  the 
summons  of  Pope  Innocent  III.  to  all  Christian  princes  in 
the  West  to  unite  in  crusade  against  the  luckless  Albigeuses. 
Into  the  history  and  horrors  of  that,  the  most  atrocious  war 
which  has  stained  the  page  of  Christian  history,  we  are 
fortunately  not  called  to  enter.  There  is  absolutely  no 
evidence  that  S.  Dominic  had  any  part  in  counselling  or 
encouraging  the  massacres.  His  presence  in  that  infa- 
mous drama  is  not  noted  by  a  single  contemporary 
writer.  It  was  not  till  a  century  after  his  death  that 
his  sterner  followers  boasted  of  his  presence,  if  not 
his  activity,  in  exciting  the  brutal  crusaders  in  the  day 
of  battle,  leading  them,  cross  in  hand,  to  victory  and 
butchery. 

So,  too,  the  presence  of  S.  Dominic  on  the  tribunals 
where  the  unhappy  heretics  were  tried  for  their  lives,  and 
given  over  to  be  burned  by  hundreds,  rests  on  late  and 
untrustworthy  testimony,  on  that  of  Dominicans,  when 
they  were  inquisitors,  and  sought  to  establish  as  their 
sanction  the  example  of  their  founder.  All  that  can  be 
proved  is  that,  on  one  occasion,  Dominic  was  employed  in 
addressing,  pleading  with,  and  endeavouring  to  convince 
some  Albigenses,  who,  if  obstinate  in  their  heresy,  were 
destined  for  the  fire.  That  he  may  have  endeavoured  on 
paany  other  occasions  to  convert  a  heretic,  and  rescue  him 
from  his  dreadful  fate,  is  more  than  probable.  On  one 
occasion  we  know  that  he  delivered  an  Albigensian  from 
his  chains  on  his  way  to  execution. 

Dominic  established  a  convent  at  Prouille  (a.d.  1206), 
thinking,  and  wisely  thinking,  that  devoted,  religious  women 
were  as  necessary  in  the  midst  of  the  heretics  as  were  self- 


August  4.] 


»S".  Dominic. 


49 


-* 


denying  and  holy  men.      Many  miracles  are  recorded  of 
this  period  of  Dominic's  life.* 

Thierry  d'Apolda  relates  an  incident.  A  bishop,  probably 
Foulques  of  Toulouse,  was  about  to  visit  a  part  of  his  diocese 
in  all  the  threatening  panoply  of  war,  and  the  splendours  of 
wealth.  "  It  is  not  thus,"  said  the  humble  servant  of  God, 
"  that  the  adversaries  of  the  Faith  are  to  be  subjugated.  Arm 
yourself,  not  with  the  sword,  but  with  prayer  ;  wear  not  the 
magnificence  of  the  world,  but  be  clothed  with  humility." 

Near  Toulouse  lived  some  noble  ladies  whom  the  austerity 
of  the  lives  of  the  heretical  teachers,  contrasting  gloriously 
with  the  luxury  and  laxness  of  the  Catholic  priests  and 
prelates,  had  alienated  from  the  Faith.  Instead  of  com- 
passing their  ruin  by  denouncing  them  to  the  inexorable 
bishop,  Dominic,  at  the  beginning  of  Lent,  asked  of  them 
hospitality.  It  was  accorded  him.  He  entered  into  no 
controversy  with  them,  but  all  Lent  he  ate  but  bread  and 
water.  The  first  night  they  made  comfortable  beds  for 
Dominic  and  his  companion ;  he  declined  them,  and  asked 
for  two  hard  boards,  and  on  these  the  apostles  lay  till 
Easter.  The  silent  example  of  these  loving,  meek  souls 
touched  the  hearts  of  their  hostesses,  and  they  were  restored  to 
the  true  fold.  One  day,  in  conversing  with  an  Albigensian, 
the  poor  man  told  him  that  it  was  only  his  dire  poverty 
which  held  him  from  reconciliation  with  the  Church. 
Dominic  bade  the  man  sell  him  as  a  slave,  and  live  on  the 
proceeds  in  comfort  and  orthodoxy.  But  the  sacrifice  was 
not  accomplished,  money  was  placed  at  his  disposal  without 
having  recourse  to  this  extremity. 

1  Nine  noble  ladies  entreated  him  to  show  them  whether  their  Manichsean  doctrines 
were  really  evil.  He  prayed,  and  lo  !  the  spirit  of  Manicbaeism  appeared  as  a  great 
black  cat,  and  ran  up  the  bell  rope.  A  lady  of  extreme  beauty  wished  to  leave  her 
monastery,  and  resisted  all  the  preacher's  arguments.  She  blew  her  nose,  and  it 
came  off  in  her  handkerchief  Horror-stricken,  she  implored  the  prayers  of  Dominic 
He  put  her  nose  on  again  ;  and  the  lady  consented  to  remain  in  the  convent. 

VOL.  IX.  4 


-* 


50  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4. 

The  Albigensian  war,  by  its  duration,  seemed  to  place  an 
invincible  obstacle  in  the  way  of  Dominic,  whose  constant 
design  was  to  found  a  religious  Order  consecrated  to  the 
ministry  of  preaching.  Peace  was  the  incessant  object  of  his 
prayers,  when  the  sickening  atrocities  of  the  crusade  might 
be  at  an  end,  and  he  might  labour  for  the  truth  with  a 
better  weapon  than  the  sword.  In  the  meantime  he  is 
thought  to  have  established  the  devotion  of  the  Rosary. 
The  object  was  twofold.  By  dividing  the  circle  of  the 
Rosary  into  fifteen  sections,  each  commemorating  an 
incident  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  or  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  he 
hoped  to  impress  the  Gospel  history  deeply  on  the  hearts 
of  those  who  used  this  devotion,  and  thereby  to  make  the 
Incarnation  a  reality  to  their  souls.  The  Albigensians 
disbelieved  in  the  Incarnation.  Their  doctrine  was  that  of 
a  perpetual  conflict  between  spirit  and  body,  and  their 
ethical  system  consisted  in  an  exaltation  of  the  spirit  to 
complete  emancipation  from  the  flesh,  whose  every  appetite 
and  function  was  gross  and  sinful.  The  dignity  of  man's 
body,  the  value  of  the  sacraments,  the  future  destiny  of  the 
flesh,  risen  through  Christ,  were  denied  by  the  Albigensians, 
who  allowed  that  Christ  was  indeed  a  teacher  of  morality, 
but  disdained  to  believe  in  his  Resurrection  and  Ascension. 

But  the  institution  of  the  Rosary  had  another  object. 
Dominic  designed  that  it  should  serve  not  only  to  deepen 
faith,  but  also  to  build  up  a  habit  of  devotion.  The  poor 
and  ignorant  could  not  use  manuals  of  prayer,  could  not 
join  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  conducted  in  a  language 
unintelligible  to  them.  Their  rude  efforts  at  prayer  were 
liable  through  ignorance  to  become  incoherent,  purposeless, 
and  even  profane.  No  elaborate  forms  of  prayer  would 
suit  these  simple  souls.  Dominic  gave  them  only  two,  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Hail  Mary,  to  be  used  in  com- 
memoration of  the  great  mysteries  of  the  Christian   faith 

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--«' 

[/J 


o 

M 


*- 


■* 


August  4.] 


6".  Dominic. 


51 


and  to  be  directed  to  such  objects  as  at  the  time  engrossed 
the  mind  or  distressed  the  heart  of  the  worshipper.  The 
Rosary  was  at  once  the  most  elastic  and  the  simplest  system 
of  prayer  ever  devised.  Of  the  incalculable  advantage  it 
has  been  to  myriads  of  souls  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too 
highly.  That  it  is  liable  to  degenerate  into  formalism  is 
true  of  it  as  of  every  other  religious  exercise.  But  to  the 
ignorant  it  has  proved  an  admirable  manual  of  faith  and 
devotion,  as  testified  by  the  experience  of  seven  centuries. 

In  1 2 15  Dominic  visited  Rome  to  obtain  from  Innocent 
III.  his  approbation  of  the  Order  of  Preachers  he  had 
founded,  or  was  in  process  of  founding.  Innocent  hesitated 
about  committing  to  other  tongues  than  those  of  consecrated 
bishops,  the  liberty  to  preach  to  the  people.  It  was  a 
revolution  in  the  practice  of  the  Church  he  was  asked  to 
sanction,  and  before  permitting  it  he  reasonably  sought 
delay  in  which  he  might  consider  its  advisability.  He 
could  not  but  see  that  the  bishops,  mixed  up  as  they  were 
with  political  controversies,  absent  from  their  dioceses  for 
m.onths,  years,  on  legations,  or  at  the  head  of  their  troops 
in  the  camps  of  emperors,  kings,  or  crusaders,  could  not 
dispense  to  the  people  the  bread  of  the  word  of  life  with 
regularity.  Nor  were  they  often  men  of  sufficient  theological 
training,  or  devotional  bent  of  mind,  to  be  able  to  instruct 
the  poor  and  convert  the  sinner.  The  ministry  of  apostle- 
ship  seemed  to  be  dying  out  of  the  Church  when  Dominic 
appeared  and  boldly  asked  that  the  Holy  Father  would 
permit  an  Order  to  undertake  the  great  work  in  which  the 
bishops  had  failed,  A  timely  vision,  so  it  is  said,  his  own 
common  sense,  certainly,  warranted  Innocent  in  giving  his 
sanction  to  the  work  of  Dominic. 

What  Innocent  approved,  Honorius  III.  ratified,  and 
Gregory  IX.  canonized.  The  Societj'  of  Preachers  went 
forth  with  full  authority  to  preach  the  word  in  season  and 

4—2 


*- 


-* 


-»^ 


52  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  4. 

out  of  season,  and  everywhere.  In  a  few  years  it  had 
spread  throughout  the  West.  Spain,  France,  Germany, 
Poland,  and  England  were  invaded  by  the  noble  company 
of  Preachers.  "  How  beautiful  on  the  mountains  are  the 
feet  of  them  that  bring  good  tidings,  that  publish  peace, 
that  bring  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publish  salvation."* 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the  Order,  founded  for 
the  suppression  of  heresy  by  preaching  in  Languedoc,  was 
hardly  organized  before  it  left  the  chosen  scene  of  its 
labours.  Instead  of  fixing  on  Toulouse,  or  any  of  the  cities 
of  Provence  as  the  centre  of  his  operations,  Dominic — four 
years  after  the  battle  of  Muret,  which  finally  prostrated  the 
Albigenses — for  ever  abandoned  Languedoc.  Such  conduct 
is  the  best  evidence  of  the  feelings  with  which  Dominic 
regarded  the  crusade.  On  plains,  reeking  with  the  odours  of 
carnage,  he  could  glean  no  harvest.  If  the  heretics  were 
subdued,  those  who  survived  were  too  deeply  wounded  by 
wrongs,  treachery,  robbery,  murder,  debauchery  wrought 
under  the  banners  of  the  cross  of  Christ  and  the  keys  of 
S.  Peter,  to  be  amenable  to  the  influence  of  holy  example  and 
gentle  words.  Generations  must  pass,  the  great  crimes  of 
that  iniquitous  war  must  be  forgotten,  before  the  dove  of 
peace  could  revisit  that  land,  and  hearts  would  open  to  the 
gentle  influences  of  the  loving  Spirit. 

At  Rome,  on  the  visit  made  by  Dominic  to  receive  the 
confirmation  of  his  Order,  he  met  S.  Francis,  that  other 
pillar  holding  up  the  tottering  Church.  One  night,  so  runs 
the  legend,  being  in  prayer,  he  saw  in  vision  the  mother  01 
God  presenting  two  men  before  her  son.  In  one  he  recog- 
nised himself,  he  saw  the  other  next  day  in  beggar's  garb  in 
a  church.  He  ran  to  him,  clasped  him  in  his  arms,  and 
said,  ''  My  companion,  we  will  walk  together,  let  us  hold 
together,  and  none  can  overcome  us." 

^  Isaiah  lii.  7. 


-* 


*- 


-* 


August  4-] 


»S.  Dominic. 


53 


The  kiss  of  S.  Dominic  and  S.  Francis  has  been  trans- 
mitted from  generation  to  generation.  Every  year,  on  the 
feast  of  S.  Dominic,  carriages  leave  Santa  Maria  sopra 
Minerva,  at  Rome,  the  head  quarters  of  the  Dominicans, 
and  go  to  the  convent  of  the  Ara  Cceli,  for  the  General  of  the 
Franciscans,  and  a  number  of  his  brethren.  The  brown 
Capuchins  are  met  in  the  church  by  the  White  Friars ;  in 
parallel  lines  they  advance  from  the  porch  to  the  choir, 
and  the  sons  of  S.  Francis  sing  the  office  of  the  friend  of 
their  founder  in  the  church  of  the  sons  of  S.  Dominic. 
After  the  conclusion  of  the  office  they  adjourn  to  the 
refectory,  break  bread  together,  and  separate  with  an 
embrace. 

After  abandoning  the  field  in  Languedoc,  Dominic  came 
to  Rome  (a.d.  1217),  where  he  was  appointed  by  Honorius 
III.  to  be  Master  of  the  Sacred  Palace — an  office  since 
perpetuated  among  his  spiritual  descendants.  He  was  held 
in  the  highest  honour  by  the  aged  Cardinal  Ugolino,  the  future 
Pope  Gregory  IX.  In  the  year  1220,  three  years  after  he  had 
left  Languedoc,  he  stood,  as  the  General  of  his  Order,  at  the 
head  of  an  assembly  at  Bologna.  Italy,  Spain,  Provence, 
France,  Germany,  Poland,  had  now  their  Dominican  con- 
vents ;  the  voices  of  Dominican  preachers  had  penetrated 
into  every  land. 

In  1 2 1 8  a  yearning  had  come  over  the  heart  of  Dominic 
to  revisit  Spain,  his  dear  native  Castile.  He  left  Rome  in 
the  autumn.  Brother  Albert,  who  accompanied  him,  after- 
wards told  odd  stories  of  the  journey ;  how,  when  Dominic 
had  his  serge  habit  torn  by  a  dog,  he  sealed  up  the  rents 
with  little  dabs  of  clay  ;  how,  when  a  voluble  and  abusive 
hostess  stormed  at  them  for  refusing  to  eat  the  meat  she  had 
cooked  for  the  travellers'  dinner,  Dominic  imposed  silence 
on  her  by  a  word,  and  the  woman's  tongue  did  not  wag 
again  for  eight  months  ;  till  Dominic,  on  his  way  back,  at 


*- 


54 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  4. 


her  mute  appeal,  to  the  despair  of  her  husband,  restored  its 
glibness  to  the  paralysed  member. 

Dominic  tarried  at  Segovia,  where  he  founded  a  convent. 
Every  night  he  spent  in  the  church.  The  indelicate  curiosity 
of  some  of  his  friars  prompted  them  to  pry  into  his  privacy, 
and  watch  the  secret  communions  of  his  soul  with  God.  In 
the  church  alone,  as  he  thought,  he  could  pour  out  his  heart 
without  restraint.  The  spies  saw  him  in  ecstasy  of  devotion 
before  each  altar,  the  words  of  David  pouring  from  his  lips : 
"  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust,  quicken  me,  O  Lord,  accord- 
ing to  thy  word  !"  "  Lord,  I  have  cried  unto  thee,  turn  not 
far  from  me,  keep  not  still  silence,  refrain  not  thyself,  O 
God  !"  "  Lord,  hear  me,  when  I  cry  unto  thee,  whilst  I  lift 
up  my  hands  in  thy  holy  place!"  "I  stretch  forth  my 
hands  unto  thee ;  my  soul  gaspeth  unto  thee  as  a  thirsty 
land.  Hear  me,  O  Lord,  and  that  soon,  for  my  spirit 
waxeth  faint ;  hide  not  thy  face  from  me,  lest  I  be  like  unto 
them  that  go  down  into  the  pit."  And  anon,  through  the 
dark  aisles  would  sound  the  convulsed  sobbing  of  Dominic, 
as  he  numbered  his  failures,  his  shortcomings  in  that  lofty 
walk,  the  close  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  his  Saviour. 
Sometimes  a  passing  moonbeam,  or  the  light  of  the  sanctuary 
lamp  exhibited  the  white  form  of  Dominic  prostrate  before 
an  altar,  or  kneeling  up  with  arms  widespread  in  prayer,  or 
standing  on  tiptoe  in  tremulous  rapture  and  self-unconscious- 
ness, like  a  seraph  poised  ready  for  flight.  But  we  may  be 
thought  to  partake  of  the  vulgar  inquisitiveness  ot  those 
who  intruded  on  these  sacred  scenes,  if  we  attempt  to 
describe  them.  There  are  moments  in  every  life  which  it  is 
sacrilege  to  intrude  on  and  unveil. 

From  Segovia  he  went  to  Madrid,  where  he  founded  a 
convent  for  women,  and  then  started  for  Paris.  He  was 
deserted  on  his  road  by  all  the  brethren  he  had  chosen  to 
accompany  him,  except  three.     As  they  travelled  they  fell 


*- 


■* 


-* 


Angust  4.] 


S.  Dominic. 


55 


in  with  bands  of  pilgrims,  who  fed  them,  and  in  return  were 
edified  by  the  pious  exhortations  of  Dominic.  When  the 
rain  fell  Dominic  sang  aloud  the  "  Ave  Maris  Stella,"  or  the 
"Veni  Creator."  The  Gospel  of  S.  Matthew  and  the 
Epistles  of  S.  Paul  he  carried  ever  with  him,  and  on  reach- 
ing an  inn,  or  resting  under  the  trees,  would  open  them  and 
read.  His  companions  were  often  surprised  and  touched  to 
see  the  play  of  emotion  in  his  face  as  he  read  the  sacred 
page  ;  and  sometimes  the  fixedness  of  his  eyes,  and  air  of 
abstraction,  showed  that  his  soul  had  passed  from  study  to 
meditation,  or  by  the  movement  of  his  lips,  they  judged,  to 
prayer.  When  he  had  done  reading,  he  reverently  kissed 
the  book,  as  though  to  thank  it  for  the  blessed  lessons  it 
had  given  him.  On  his  road,  whenever  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  address  the  peasants,  he  preached  with  fervour. 
"  What  books  do  you  study  ?"  asked  a  young  man,  after  one 
of  these  sermons,  which  had  touched  and  melted  many 
rough  hearts.  "  Above  all,  the  book  of  charity,"  answered 
Dominic.  "  Look  at  those  roofs,"  he  would  say  sometimes 
to  his  companions,  as  they  saw  far  oft  the  red  tiles  of  some 
little  village.  "  What  sorrows  and  cares,  what  sins  and 
difficulties  they  cover.  Oh  !  to  lighten  and  remit  some  of 
them  as  we  pass  by."  In  the  summer  of  12 19  Dominic 
descended  for  the  last  time  the  flanks  of  the  white 
Alps,  and  saw  basking  in  the  sunlight,  and  extending  blue 
to  the  horizon,  the  plains  of  Italy.  He  returned  to  Rome 
by  Bologna  and  Florence.  He  had  not  forgotten  the  good 
sisters  of  S.  Sixtus,  a  convent  he  had  founded  at  Rome, 
during  his  long  absence.  He  brought  them  from  Spain  a 
number  of  ebony  spoons,  which  he  had  carried  about  with 
him  in  his  long  round  by  way  of  Paris,  on  his  shoulders. 

In  1220  the  first  chapter  of  the  Order  was  held  at  Bologna, 
as  has  been  already  related.  On  his  way  to  attend  it 
Dominic  visited  S.   Francis  of  Assisi  at  Cremona.     Whilst 


«- 


56  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August  4. 

the  two  patriarchs  were  conversing  together,  some  Francis- 
cans a4)proached  and  said  :  "  Our  convent  is  without  good 
water;  we  pray  you,  servants  of  God,  to  intercede  with  the 
Lord,  that  He  may  bless  our  muddy  well  and  make  it 
limpid."  It  had  been  newly  sunk.  The  two  patriarchs 
looked  at  one  another,  each  inviting  the  other  to  reply. 
Then  Dominic  said  to  the  friars,  "  Draw  some  of  the  water, 
and  bring  it  us."  A  bowl  was  produced  full  of  the  turbid 
fluid.  A  spring  had  been  tapped,  but  it  had  not  as  yet 
purified  itself. 

Dominic  said  to  Francis,  "  Father,  bless  this  water  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  Francis  replied,  "  Father,  you  must 
bless  it,  for  you  are  greater  than  I  am."  Dominic  took  the 
bowl,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  water,  and  bade 
it  be  poured  back  into  the  well,  whose  waters  were  healed 
immediately. 

One  night,  on  his  way,  probably  at  Columba,  near 
Parma,  Dominic  and  his  companions  arrived  at  a  monastery 
gate  after  all  the  monks  had  gone  to  bed.  One  of  his 
attendants  would  have  knocked.  "Do  not  wake  them,' 
said  Dominic  ;  "  we  can  sleep  on  the  step."  At  what  time 
Dominic  instituted  his  Third  O^der  is  not  exactly  known. 
He,  as  well  as  S.  Francis,  saw  the  necessity  of  widening  the 
influence  of  their  Order,  and  of  uniting  seculars  in  a  common 
bond,  by  some  new  organization.  Both  patriarchs  accord- 
ingly instituted  Tertiaries,  a  third  order  in  connexion 
respectively  with  the  Society  of  S.  Dominic  or  of  S.  Francis. 
The  members  lived  in  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  their  secu- 
lar Avocations,  their  families,  bound  by  no  monastic  vows 
but  deeply  imbued  with  the  corporate  spirit.  They  were 
organized,  each  under  his  own  prior,  and  were  taught  to 
cultivate  personal  holiness,  and  to  labour,  each  in  his 
station,  to  advance  the  faith  and  combat  heresy  and  immo- 
rality.    The  Third  Order,  whether  of  S.  Dominic  or  S.  Fran- 

* 


►i*- 


August  4.] 


S.  Dofmnzc, 


57 


-* 


CIS,  spread,  not  merely  by  its  own  perpetual  influence  and 
unwearied  activity,  it  had  everywhere  a  vast  host  of  votaries 
wedded  to  its  interests,  full  of  enthusiasm,  ready  to  advance 
the  cause  both  of  Christ  and  of  S.  Dominic  or  S.  Francis. 
These  lay  coadjutors,  these  Tertiaries,  as  they  were  called  in 
the  Society  of  S.  Francis,  Soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  they  were 
designated  in  the  Society  of  S.  Dominic,  took  the  place 
which  had  been  occupied  by  the  heretics.  The  heretics 
had  been  often  men  and  women  affecting  a  more  pious,  exclu- 
sively holy  life  than  the  generality  of  their  neighbours,  bound 
together  by  some  common  rule,  and  falling  into  heresy  only 
because  neglected  by  the  Church.  Now  the  Church 
extended,  through  Dominic  or  Francis,  her  hands  to  this 
class  of  people,  took  them  to  her,  and  enrolled  them  in 
her  army.  One  great  attraction  presented  by  the  heretical 
communities  was  wrested  from  them,  and  the  orthodox 
Societies  approved  by  the  Holy  See  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  the  Church. 

S.  Dominic  fell  sick  of  fever  and  dysentery  at  Venice,  in 
July,  1221 ;  he  would  not  go  to  bed,  but  sat  up  in  his  white 
serge  habit,  silent  and  patient.  He  felt  he  was  dying,  and 
sent  for  his  friars,  to  give  them  his  last  exhortations.  At  the 
advice  of  the  doctors  he  was  moved  to  S.  Maria  degli 
Monte,  near  Bologna.  He  began  to  sink  rapidly.  He 
heard  a  rumour  that  the  religious  of  S.  Maria  had  resolved 
on  retaining  his  body,  after  his  death,  for  their  church. 
"  God  forbid  that  I  should  rest  anywhere  but  among  my 
friars,"  said  he ;  "  carry  me  into  my  own  vineyard,  that  I 
may  die  therein."  He  was  transported  to  Bologna,  in  the 
arms  of  his  friars,  who  feared  he  would  die  at  each  step. 
There  was  no  spare  cell  in  the  convent  there.  Brother 
Moneta  gave  up  his  own.  His  habit  must  be  changed. 
Moneta  pulled  off  his  own  tunic,  and  gave  it  to  the  dying 
patriarch.      Brother   Rudolf  held  Dominic's   head  on   his 


-* 


*- 


58 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  4. 


-* 


bosom,  and  gently  wiped  the  sweat  away  with  a  handker- 
chief.    A  ring  of  brothers  stood  round  weeping. 

"  Do  not  weep,"  said  Dominic  ;  "  I  may  be  more  useful 
to  you  where  I  am  going  than  I  could  be  here."  Some  one 
asked  him  where  he  would  like  to  be  buried.  "  Under  the 
feet  of  my  friars,"  he  answered.  "  Now  make  ready." 
They  prepared  to  administer  to  him  the  last  sacrament. 
"  Begin."  They  recited  the  recommendation  of  a  departing 
soul.  His  lips  moved  till  they  came  to  the  words,  "  Come 
to  his  aid,  saints  of  God !  come,  angels  of  the  Lord,  and 
bear  his  soul  into  the  presence  of  the  Most  High  !"  when 
his  lips  ceased  to  move.  His  hands  rose  towards  heaven. 
He  was  gone.     It  was  noon,  August  6,  1221. 

His  body  reposes  in  the  church  of  his  Order  at  Bologna. 
In  art  he  is  represented  with  a  star  on  his  brow,  because  in 
legend  it  is  said  that  his  nurse  once  saw  one  shining  over 
his  head  as  he  slept. 


^ 


-^ 


-* 


August  s.] 


6'.  Afra. 


59 


August  5. 


S.  Mbmmius,  B.  o/Chalois  sur  Marne ;  ^rd  cent. 

S.  Emygdius,  B.M.  at  Ascoli,  in  Italy;  a.d.  303. 

S.  Afra,  M.  at  Augsburg,  in  Bavaria;  a.d.  304. 

S.  Cassian,  B.  ofAutun;  ^tk  cent. 

Dedication  o/S.  Mary  of  the  Snows,  at  Rome,  a.d.  366. 

S.  Nonna,  Matr.,  Mother  of  S.  Gregory  Naziaiizen  ;  circ.  A.D.  374- 

S.  Oswald,  K.M.  in  Norihuvibria;  A.D.  642. 

S.  Abel,  B.C.  at  Lobbes  in  Hainault ;  circ.  A.D.  760. 

S.  AFRA,  M. 
(a.d.  304). 

[.^t  Augsburg  on  Aug.  7 ;  as  also  at  Mainz,  Wiirzburg,  Spires,  Osna- 
briick,  &c.  But  in  the  so-called  Martyrology  of  S.  Jerome,  and  in  the 
Roman  Martyrology,  on  Aug.  5,  as  also  Usuardus,  Ado,  and  Hrabanus 
Maurus.  Authority  : — The  Acts  of  S.  Afra,  consisting  of  two  parts,  the 
"  Conversio  "  and  the  "  Passio,"  which  existed  in  the  9th  cent.,  but  when 
written  it  is  impossible  to  decide.  But  it  is  certain  that  they  are  by  no 
means  contemporary.  The  "Conversio"  is  certainly  much  later  than  the 
"Passio,"  is  founded  on  tradition,  and  is  probably  afX3cryphal.  But  the 
"  Passio"  may  be  based  on  the  ancient  and  authentic  Acts.  In  style  it 
resembles  genuine  Acts  of  the  Martyrs ;  this  cannot  be  said  for  the 
"Conversio."'] 

CCORDING  to  tradition,  not  very  trustworthy, 
Afra  was  a  harlot  living  in  Augsburg  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fourth  century.  S.  Narcissus, 
Bishop  of  Gerona  (March  i8),  being  driven  from 
his  see  in  the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  came  to  Augsburg, 
and  lodged  in  the  house  of  Afra.  She  and  her  mother 
Hilaria  were  converted  and  baptized  by  the  bishop. 

When  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  broke  out  in 
Rhaetia,  Gains,  the  judge,  having  learned  that  Afra  was  a 
Christian,  ordered  her  to  be  brought  before  him.     The  fol- 

'  The  fact  that  before  the  6th  cent,  the  Martyrologies  give  S.  Afra  as  a  virgin  and 
martyr  proves  that  the  "  Conversio"  was  not  then  in  existence. 


-* 


6o  Lives  of  the  Saints.  ^August  5. 


lowing  account  of  the  examination  and  martyrdom  of  S.  Afra 
is  probably  in  the  main  genuine. 

The  judge  said,  "Sacrifice  to  the  gods,  for  it  is  better  for 
thee  to  live  than  to  perish  by  torture." 

Afra  answered,  "  My  sins  suffice,  which  I  have  committed 
in  ignorance,  without  my  adding  this  also,  which  thou  com- 
mandest  me  to  do." 

Gains  said,  "  Go  to  the  capitol  and  sacrifice." 

Afra  said,  "  Christ  is  my  capitol,  whom  I  hold  ever  before 
my  eyes,  and  to  whom  I  daily  confess  my  misdeeds,  and 
offer  myself  as  a  willing  sacrifice." 

The  judge  Gains  said,  "  As  I  hear,  thou  art  a  courtesan. 
Sacrifice,  then,  for  thou  hast  no  part  with  the  God  of  the 
Christians." 

Afra  replied,  "  My  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said  that  he  came 
down  from  heaven  for  sinners." 

The  judge  said,  "  Sacrifice,  and  thou  wilt  regain  the  love 
of  thy  lovers,  and  they  will  pour  their  money  into  thy  lap." 

Afra  answered,  "I  will  never  receive  their  hateful  money; 
what  money  I  had  I  have  cast  away  as  dross." 

The  judge  Gains  said,  "  Thou  canst  be  no  Christian,  thou 
who  art  a  harlot." 

Afra  replied,  "  My  only  claim  to  the  title  of  Christian  is 
through  the  mercy  of  God." 

Gains  said,  "  Howknowest  thou  that  Christ  accepts  thee?" 

Afra  said,  "  In  that  he  suffers  me  to  confess  him  before 
thy  judgment  seat." 

Gains  said,  "These  are  fables,  mere  fables;  sacrifice  !" 

Afra  answered,  "  Christ  is  my  salvation  :  who,  hanging 
on  the  cross,  promised  paradise  to  the  confessing  thief" 

The  judge  said,  "  Do  not  keep  me  so  long  arguing  with 
you ;  sacrifice,  and  have  done  with  this  folly,  or  I  will  have 
thee  tortured  and  burned  alive." 

Afra  said,  "Let  the  body  that  has  sinned  suffer." 

^ — — ^ 


August  5.1 


S.  Afrcu 


61 


-^ 


Thereupon  the  judge  gave  forth  his  sentence ;  and  she 
was  instantly  seized  by  the  executioners  and  dragged  to  an 
island  in  the  river  Lech,  where  they  stripped  her,  and  bound 
her  to  a  stake. 

Then  she,  lifting  up  her  eyes  to  heaven,  prayed  weeping, 
'*  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Almighty  God,  who  earnest  to  call  the 
sinners,  not  the  righteous,  to  repentance ;  receive  in  this 
hour  the  penitence  of  my  passion,  and  by  this  temporal  fire, 
prepared  to  consume  my  body,  save  me  from  the  eternal 
fire  which  consumes  body  and  soul  together ! " 

Then  the  flames  rose,  and  enveloped  her,  and  out  of  the 
fire  her  voice  was  still  heard  raised  in  supplication,  "  I  give 
thee  thanks.  Lord  Jesus  Christ  !  who  hast  deemed  me 
worthy  to  suffer  for  Thy  name,  who  didst  offer  Thy  body  on 
the  cross  as  a  victim  for  all  the  world,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
the  good  for  the  evil,  the  blessed  for  the  cursed,  the  sweet 
for  the  bitter,  the  clean  from  sin  for  those  stained  with  evil. 
To  Thee  I  offer  my  sacrifice,  who  livest  and  reignest  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  God  through  ages  of  ages, 
Amen." 

And  so  saying  she  was  silent,  and  died  in  the  midst  of  the 
fire.' 

Now  when  the  pyre  was  dead  and  cold,  Digna,  Eumenia, 
and  Euprepia,  servants  of  Afra,  took  her  body  and  buried  it 
in  a  sepulchral  chapel  erected  at  the  second  milestone  from 
the  city.  Now  when  Gaius  heard  this,  he  sent  soldiers,  and 
they  stacked  wood  round  the  chapel,  and  burned  therein  the 
servants,  and  Hilaria,  mother  of  the  martyred  Afra. 

The  name  Afira  points  to  the  martyr  having  come  from 

Africa,  probably  from  Egypt.     She,  there  can  be  little  doubt, 

followed  the  soldiers  of  the  Theban  legion,  of  which  one 

manipulus  was  perhaps  quartered  at  Augusta  Vindelicorum. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  she  was  a  courtesan.     The 

1  So  £ar  is  trustworthy  ;  what  follows  is  a  later  addition,  apparently. 


-* 


*- 


62  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  5. 


martyrologists  before  the  6th  century  call  her  a  virgin,  so 
that  at  that  time  the  complete  legend  of  her  conversion  from 
a  life  of  sin  was  not  made  up,  and  the  earlier  "  Passion"  was 
accommodated  to  agree  with  this  version  of  the  story.  The 
Roman  soldiers  were  often  suffered  to  take  with  them  their 
wives  and  daughters,  and  Afra  may  have  accompanied 
her  father  from  Egypt  to  Germany.  But  after  the  6th  cen- 
tury the  martyrologists  were  unable  to  explain  jiow  a  young 
woman  could  have  followed  the  soldiers  from  the  East  into  the 
West,  unless  she  were  a  camp-follower  of  bad  repute.  They 
therefore  omitted  the  title  of  virgin,  and  the  fable  of  her 
being  a  harlot  arose. 

That  African  troops  were  quartered  in  Germany  is  proved 
by  Roman  seals  of  a  "  Cohors  Mauretanorum"  having  been 
found  at  Xanten,  the  sepulchral  inscription  of  a  Mauritanian 
prefect  of  a  cohort  having  been  discovered  at  Bedburg  near 
Cleves,  and  a  negro  skull,  together  with  Roman  pottery  and 
coins  at  Cologne.^ 

The  relics  of  S.  Afra  are  supposed  to  have  been  dis- 
covered in  A.D.  955,  by  S.  Ulric.  They  now  repose  in  the 
beautiful  church  of  SS.  Ulric  and  Afra,  at  the  south  extre- 
mity of  Augsburg. 


S.  MARY  OF  THE  SNOWS. 
(a.d.  366). 

[Roman  Martyrology.    Authority  : — Tradition.] 

Under  the  pontificate  of  Pope  Liberius  there  lived  at 

Rome  a  patrician  named  John,  married  to  a  lady  of  high 

birth.     They  had  no  children,  and  they  resolved  to  make 

the  Blessed  Virgin  their  heir.     They  took  a  vow  to  devote 

'  For  further  particulars,  see  S.  Gereon,  Oct  lo ;  and  "  Zur  Geschicbte  der  The- 
baischen  Legion,"  von  Prof.  Dr.  Braun  :  Bonn,  1855. 


*- 


*- 


-^ 


August  s-] 


6*.  Oswald. 


63 


their  wealth  to  her,  and  only  sought  how  to  expend  it.  The 
EsquiUne  hill  belonged  to  them,  and  they  resolved  to  erect 
thereon  a  church  dedicated  to  the  immaculate  Mother  of 
God.  They  informed  the  Pope  of  their  desire,  which  he 
highly  approved.  The  plan  of  the  church  was  to  be  traced 
out  on  the  hill-top  on  the  5th  August.  During  the  night,  a 
light  snow  fell  over  the  Esquiline,  softly  draping  it  in  white, 
and  when  the  Pope,  the  attendant  clergy,  and  the  pious  bene- 
fiictor  ascended  the  hill  to  trace  out  the  foundation  of  the 
church,  they  found  it  covered  with  snow,  on  which  light 
pure  substance  the  lines  of  the  foundations  might  be  drawn. 
The  church  erected  thereon  was  at  first  called  the  Basilica 
of  Liberius,  afterwards  S.  Maria  ad  Praesepe,  and  finally 
S.  Maria  Maggiore. 


S.   OSWALD,  K.M. 

(A.D.    642). 

[Sarum  and  York  Kalendars,  Ai.ghcaJi  Martyrologies,  Scottish  Kalendars, 
Roman  Martyrology.  in  the  Belgian  Kalendars,  June  20,  F.  of  Translation  to 
Winnochberg, — German  Breviaries  and  Missals  of  the  15th  and  i6th  cent. 
Authority  :— Bede's  Anglo-Saxon  Hist.  The  following  life  is  for  the  most 
part  condensed  from  that  by  Montalembert,  in  his  "  Monks  of  the  West."] 

The  conversion  of  Ethelbert  of  Kent,  by  Augustine, ^pro- 
duced Uttle  or  no  effect  on  the  North  of  England.  Nor- 
thumbria  remained  heathen  ;  Paulinus,  who  had  borne  the 
cross  into  Yorkshire,  had  preached  at  Dewsbury,  and 
baptized  at  Catterick,  had  deserted  the  scene  of  his  labours, 
and  invasion  and  havoc  had  swept  over  it,  obliterating 
his  traces.  It  was  not  to  S.  Augustine  and  Ethelbert,  but 
to  SS.  Aidan  and  Oswald  that  Northumbria  was  to  look  as 
its  apostles.    The  father  of  the  Christianity  of  the  vast  region 


*- 


-* 


64  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[Augxist  5. 


now  included  in  the  counties  of  Yorkshire,  Durham,  and 
Northumberland,  was  not  S.  Gregory,  but  S.  Columba,  its 
metropolis  was  not  Canterbury,  but  lona. 

Forty-eight  years  after  Augustine  and  his  Roman  monks 
had  landed  on  the  shores  of  pagan  England,  an  Anglo-Saxon 
prince  invoked  the  aid  of  the  monks  of  lona,  the  children  of 
Columba,  for  the  conversion  for  the  Saxons  of  the  North. 
Augustine  had  bitterly  upbraided  the  Celtic  Church  of 
Britain  with  doing  nothing  to  convert  the  Saxons  to  Christ. 
That  Church  was  now  about  nobly  to  repel  that  charge,  by 
working  a  transformation  in  the  Noith  equal  to  that  wrought 
in  the  South  by  the  missionaries  of  Rome, 

That  Anglo-Saxon  prince  was  Oswald,  son  of  Ethelfrid  the 
Ravager,  and  of  the  sister  of  the  martyred  King  Edwin. 
After  the  defeat  and  death  of  his  father,  the  son  of  the  great 
enemy  and  conqueror  of  the  Scots  had,  while  yet  a  child, 
sought  a  refuge,  along  with  his  brother  and  a  numerous  train 
of  young  nobles,  among  the  Scots. 

In  exile  he  spent  the  seventeen  years  of  the  reign  of  his 
uncle  Edwin,  as  Edwin  himself  had  lived  in  exile  during  the 
reign  of  his  brother-in-law  and  persecutor  Ethelfrid.  But 
between  these  two  representatives  of  the  two  dynasties  which 
divided  Northumberland,  and  succeeded  each  other  in  the 
sovereignty,  there  was  this  difference,  that  the  young  Edwin 
had  sought  and  found  an  asylum  among  his  pagan  fellow- 
countrymen  ;  while  the  banishment  of  Oswald  led  him  into 
intercourse  with  people  of  a  race  and  religion  differing  from 
his  own. 

Since  the  apostolate  of  Columba,  the  Scots  and  Picts  had 
become  entirely  Christian,  and  among  them  Oswald  and  his 
companions  in  misfortune  learned  the  truths  of  Christianity, 
and  were  all  baptized,  according  to  the  rite  of  the  Celtic 
Church,  which  differed  from  the  Roman. 

After  the  overthrow  of  Edwin,  and  the  Deirian  dynasty, 


*- 


-'^ 


August  s.] 


6*.  Oswald, 


65 


the  princes  of  the  Bernician  family  returned  to  Northumbria, 
from  which  they  had  been  banished  for  seventeen  years.* 

The  elder,  Eanfrid,  fell  by  the  sword  of  the  Briton  Cad- 
wallon,  after  having  renounced  the  Christian  faith.  But  his 
younger  brother  Oswald  was  a  man  of  very  different  stamp. 
At  the  head  of  a  small  but  resolute  band,  of  whom  a  dozen 
at  most  were  Christians,  like  himself,  he  undertook  to  re- 
conquer his  country,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  carry  on  the 
struggle  against  the  immense  forces  of  the  formidable  Briton, 
nor  even  to  attack  him  in  pitched  battle. 

The  two  armies,  so  unequal  in  numbers,  met  near  that 
great  wall  which  the  Emperor  Severus  had  erected  from 
sea  to  sea  to  keep  back  the  Picts,  and  which  divided 
Northumbria  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  This  rampart, 
which  had  neither  restrained  the  Picts  in  their  invasions  of 
the  South,  nor  the  Saxons  in  their  conquests  to  the  North, 
was  then,  though  not  intact,  still  standing ;  as  indeed  even 
now  its  vast  remains  may  be  traced  on  the  steep  hill-tops 
and  uplands,  covered  with  heath  or  strewn  with  basalt  rocks, 
which  give  to  that  district  of  England  an  aspect  so  different 
from  that  of  her  ordinary  landscapes.  Flanked  by  a  frag- 
ment of  the  Roman  wall,  the  Anglo-Saxon  prince  occupied 
a  height  where  his  feeble  forces  could  defy  the  attack  of  the 
numerous  battalions  of  Cadwallon.  On  that  height,  which 
was  after^vards  called  Heaven's  Field,  and  which  still  bears 
the  name  of  S.  Oswald,  on  the  eve  of  the  day  of  decisive 
battle,  the  young  and  ardent  warrior  held  erect  with  his  own 


'  Ida,  the  Man  of  Fire,  K.  of  Beroicia. 
(547—559) 


Ethelric. 

I 


Theodric. 


Occa. 


Ethelfrid,  the  Ravager. — Acha,  d,  of  Ella  of  Deira. 
(592—617) 

Eanfrid.  S.  Oswald.  Oswy.  S.  Ebba,  abss.  of  Coldingham. 

(633—634)  (635—642)         (642—670)  d.  684. 

VOL.  IX.  5 


y^- 


-* 


*- 


66  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

hands  a  large  wooden  cross,  which  had  been  hastily  made 
by  his  orders,  while  his  companions  heaped  the  earth  round 
it,  to  keep  it  firm  in  its  position ;  then,  prostrating  himself 
before  it,  he  said  to  his  brothers  in  arms,  "  Let  us  all  fall  on 
our  knees,  and  together  implore  the  living  and  true  and 
Almighty  God  in  His  mercy  to  defend  us  against  the  pride 
and  fierceness  of  our  enemy ;  for  that  God  knows  our  cause 
is  just,  and  that  we  fight  for  the  salvation  of  our  nation. 
Yes,  it  is  for  our  salvation  and  our  freedom  that  we  might 
fight  to-day  against  those  Britons,  whom  our  fathers  gloried 
in  challenging,  but  who  now  prophesy  the  extirpation  of  our 


race." 


The  Britons  themselves  might  seem  to  have  an  equal 
right  to  offer  this  prayer,  for  they  had  long  been  Christians, 
and  after  all  had  only  retaken  their  native  soil  from  the 
grasp  of  foreign  invaders.  But  a  century  of  possession  had 
given  the  latter  a  conviction  of  their  right ;  and  the  bloody 
cruelties  of  Cadwallon  had  dishonoured  his  patriotism. 
Oswald,  moreover,  represented  the  cause  of  advancing 
Christianity ;  for  the  Britons  did  nothing  to  convert  their 
enemies,  and  the  cross  which  he  planted  was  the  first  which 
had  been  as  yet  seen  in  Bernicia. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and  during  the  niglit 
which  preceded  the  contest  which  was  to  fix  his  destiny, 
Oswald,  asleep  in  his  tent,  saw  in  a  dream  the  holy  S. 
Columba,  the  apostle  and  patron  of  the  country  of  his  exile, 
and  of  the  church  in  which  he  had  received  his  baptism. 
The  warlike  Abbot  of  lona,  who  had  been  dead  for  thirty- 
six  years,  appeared  to  him  shining  with  angelic  beauty ; 
erect,  and  with  that  lofty  stature  that  distinguished  him  in 
life,  he  stood  and  stretched  his  resplendent  robe  over  the 
whole  of  the  small  army  of  exiles  as  if  to  protect  it ;  then, 
addressing  the  prince,  he  said,  as  God  said  to  Joshua  before 
the  passage  of  the  Jordan,   "Be  of  good  courage,  and  play 


-* 


August  s.] 


S.  Osiuald.  67 


the  man.  At  the  break  of  day  march  to  the  battle  :  I  have 
obtained  for  thee  from  God  the  victory  over  thine  enemies 
and  the  death  of  tyrants  :  thou  shalt  conquer  and  reign." 
The  prince,  on  awaking,  told  his  vision  to  the  Saxons  who 
had  joined  him,  and  all  promised  to  receive  baptism,  like 
himself  and  the  twelve  companions  of  his  exile,  if  he  should 
return  a  conqueror.  Early  on  the  morrow  the  battle  began, 
and  Oswald  gained  a  victory  as  complete  as  it  was  unlikely. 
Cadwallon,  the  last  hero  of  the  British  race—  victor,  accord- 
ing to  the  Welsh  tradition,  in  forty  battles  and  in  sixty  single 
combats — perished  in  this  defeat.  The  Britons  evacuated 
Northumbria,  never  to  return,  and  withdrew  behind  the 
Severn.  Those  who  remained  to  the  north  of  the  Dee,  in 
the  territory  which  has  since  been  divided  into  the  counties 
of  Chester,  Lancaster,  and  Westmoreland,  submitted  to  the 
Northumbrian  sway,  which  henceforth  extended  from  the 
Irish  Channel  to  the  North  Sea,  tracing  the  line  of  the  east 
coast  as  far  as  Edinburgh.  There  still  remained,  however, 
out  of  Wales,  and  to  the  south  of  the  wa'l  of  Severus,  in  the 
region  adjoining  Caledonia,  a  district  bathed  by  the  waters 
of  the  Solway,  full  of  lakes  and  hills  like  Caledonia  itself, 
and  then,  as  now,  known  by  the  name  of  Cumbria  or  Cum- 
berland, where  the  Britons  continued  independent,  relying  on 
the  support  of  the  Scots,  and  in  alliance  with  the  people  of 
their  own  race  who  dwelt  on  the  banks  of  the  Clyde.  But 
they  fell,  and,  though  subdued,  agreed  in  bestowing  upon 
the  son  of  the  Ravager — the  great-grandson  of  the  Burner 
— the  Saxon  who  had  nobly  vanquished  them,  the  name 
of  Lamn-Garm ;  which  means,  according  to  some,  "the 
Shining  Sword,"  according  to  others,  "  the  Liberal  Hand." 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  course  of  events  which,  after  the 
defeat  and  death  of  the  great  British  chief,  confirmed 
Oswald  in  the  undisputed  sovereignty  of  the  whole  of 
Northumbria  and   the   temporal  supremacy  of  the  entire 

5—2 


*- 


68 


Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  5. 


Saxon  Heptarchy;  but  we  find  him  entitled  Emperor  of 
all  Britain,  by  a  writer  almost  contemporary  ^vith  himself. 
Not  only,  says  Bede,  had  he  learned  to  possess  in  hope  the 
heavenly  kingdom  which  his  forefathers  knew  not ;  but  in 
this  world  God  gave  him  a  kingdom  vaster  than  that  pos- 
sessed by  any  of  his  ancestors.  He  reigned  over  the  four 
races  who  shared  Britain  among  them — the  Britons,  the 
Scots,  the  Picts,  and  the  Angles.  No  doubt  this  supremacy 
was  but  partially  acknowledged,  especially  beyond  the 
Hmits  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  territory  ;  but  Northumbria,  when 
united  under  one  king,  could  not  fail  to  become  at  once  the 
chief  power  of  the  Confederation.  Oswald,  who  was  the 
great-grandson  of  Ina  on  his  father's  side,  and  grandson  of 
Ella  on  his  mother's,  had  a  natural  right  to  unite  the 
two  realms  of  Deira  and  Bemicia,  while  at  the  same  time 
delivering  them  fi-om  the  humiliating  and  bloody  yoke  of 
the  Britons  and  Mercians.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  special 
affection  for  Bemicia,  his  father's  country,  in  which  he  lived, 
and  whose  ancient  boundaries  on  the  Caledonian  side  he 
extended  or  re-established.  But  he  succeeded,  we  are  told 
by  the  Northumbrian  Bede,  in  reconciling  and  binding 
into  one  State  the  two  tribes  which,  although  of  the  same 
race,  had  lived  in  continual  conflict.  He  made  of  the  two 
a  real  nation. 

Oswald  was  the  sixth  of  the  great  chiefs  or  suzerains  of 
the  confederation  who  bore  the  title  of  Breiwalda,  before 
whom  was  carried  the  tufa,  or  tuft  of  feathers,  which  was  the 
emblem  of  supreme  authority,  and  which,  after  this,  was 
used  by  none  save  by  the  Northumbrian  kings.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  this  dignity  was  conferred  or  ratified  by  the 
suffrage,  not  only  of  all  the  kings  of  the  Heptarchy,  but  also 
of  the  principal  chiefs  or  barons  of  each  tribe.  It  was  at 
first  exclusively  military  j  but  it  became  under  Oswald  and 
his  successors,  as  it  had  already  been  with   Ethelbert  of 


-* 


August  s.) 


6*.  Oswald. 


69 


Kent,  a  means  of  exercising  great  influence  in  religious 
matters.  For  Oswald  was  not  only  a  true  king  and  a 
gallant  soldier,  but  also  a  good  Christian,  destined  to 
become  a  saint  ;  and  in  the  power  with  which  he  found 
himself  invested  he  saw  chiefly  the  means  of  defending  and 
propagating  the  faith  which  he  had  received  with  his  baptism 
from  the  hands  of  the  sons  of  Columba. 

As  soon  as  Oswald  was  established  on  his  father's  throne, 
his  first  and  dearest  thought  was  to  bring  back  and  to 
procure  the  triumph  in  his  own  country  of  that  religion 
which  had  been  the  consolation  of  his  exile.  For  this  end 
missionaries,  ministers  of  the  Word  of  God,  were  necessary 
above  all  things.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  to  seek  them  in 
the  church  of  Canterbury,  the  monastic  centre  which  already 
existed  on  English  soil,  and  whence  ten  years  before  had 
come  Paulinus,  the  first  Apostle  of  Northumbria.  He  does 
not  seem  to  have  even  thought  of  the  noble  and  worthy 
Roman  deacon,  James,  whom  Paulinus,  on  abandoning  his 
metropolitan  see  of  York,  had  left  alone  behind  him ;  and 
who,  remaining  gallantly  at  his  post  during  the  storm  of 
invasion  and  havoc,  had  continued  to  baptize  and  preach, 
and  to  snatch  his  prey  from  the  old  enemy.  This  deacon, 
however,  was  the  lieutenant  of  a  bishop  to  some  extent  iden- 
tified with  the  Deirian  dynasty,  and  with  the  family  of  King 
Edwin,  which  had  exiled,  robbed,  and  supplanted  the  family 
of  Oswald,  and  which  he  had  just  supplanted  in  his  turn. 
Was  it  for  this  reason,  as  has  been  supposed,  that  Oswald 
sought  no  aid  from  the  Roman  missionaries?  Is  it  not 
more  natural  to  conclude  that  he  was  chiefly  influenced  by 
his  remembrance  of  the  generous  hospitality  which  he  had 
found  among  the  Scots,  and  of  the  instructions  of  those  from 
whom  in  early  manhood  he  received  baptism  and  the  other 
Sacraments  of  the  Church  ?  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  was  to  the 
Scottish  Church  that  he  addressed  himself — that  is  to  say,  to 


-* 


^ — . ^ 

70  Lives  of  the  Sahits.  [Augusts- 

the  heads  of  monasteries  ruled  by  the  traditions  and  insti- 
tutions of  Columba,  that  great  Abbot  of  lona  who  appeared 
to  him  in  his  dream  the  night  before  the  decisive  battle,  to 
promise  him  victory  and  a  crown. 

Under  the  influence  of  that  Celtic  patriotism  which  inflamed 
the  Britons  against  the  conquering  strangers,  and  which  was 
no  less  unwilling  to  concede  to  them  a  share  in  eternal 
salvation  tlian  in  the  British  soil,  the  Scottish  or  Irish  Church 
seems,  up  to  this  time,  to  have  refrained  from  all  effort  to 
spread  the  Gospel  among  the  Saxons.  But  the  time  had 
come  to  adopt  a  different  course.  As  though  it  had  only 
awaited  the  signal  given  by  Oswald,  the  Celtic  Church, 
aided  by  the  brave  missionaries  who  sprang  from  that 
monastic  reformation  of  which  lona  was  the  centre, 
immediately  began  to  light  up  with  its  radiance  the  whole 
northern  region  of  Saxon  Britain,  from  whence  it  went  on 
into  the  territory  where  it  had  been  preceded  by  the  Roman 
missionaries,  and  where  the  two  apostolic  agencies  finally 
met.  The  appeal  of  Oswald  to  lona  was  responded  to  with 
apostolic  warmth  and  eagerness  for  the  work  of  winning 
souls  to  Christ.  The  gentle  Aidan,  whose  memory  should 
be  dear  to  all  Northumbrians,  was  sent  from  the  monastic 
metropolis  of  lona  to  found  the  Church  on  the  land  north  of 
the  H umber. 

The  story  of  his  labours  will  be  told  elsewhere.'  The 
king  and  the  bishop  rivalled  each  other  in  virtue,  in  piety, 
in  ardent  charity,  and  desire  for  the  conversion  of  souls. 
Thanks  to  their  mutual  and  unwearied  efforts,  every  day  saw 
the  Christian  religion  spreading  further  and  taking  deeper 
root ;  every  day  joyous  crowds  hastened  to  feed  on  the  bread 
of  the  Divine  Word,  and  to  plunge  into  the  waters  of 
baptism  ;  every  day  numerous  churches,  flanked  by  monas- 
teries and  schools,  rose  from  the  soil.      Every  day  new  gifts 

>  Aug.  31. 
* 


August  5.] 


•S.  Oswald. 


71 


© 


of  land,  due  to  the  generosity  of  Oswald  and  the  Northum- 
brian nobles,  came  to  swell  the  patrimony  of  the  monks 
and  the  poor.  Every  day  also  new  missionaries,  full  of 
zeal  and  fervour,  arrived  from  Ireland  or  Scotland  to  help 
on  the  work  of  Aidan  and  Oswald,  preaching  and  baptizing 
converts.  And,  at  the  same  time,  James  the  Deacon,  sole 
survivor  of  the  former  Roman  mission,  redoubled  his  efforts 
to  help  forward  the  regeneration  of  the  country  in  which  he 
had  already  seen  the  Faith  flourish  and  decay. 

Oswald  did  not  content  himself  with  giving  his  friend 
Aidan  the  obedience  of  a  son,  and  the  support  of  a  king,  in 
all  that  could  aid  in  the  extension  and  consolidation  of 
Christianity.  He  himself  gave  a  perfect  example  of  all  the 
Cliristian  virtues,  and  often  passed  whole  nights  in  prayer, 
still  more  occupied  with  the  concerns  of  the  heavenly 
kingdom  than  ^vith  those  of  the  earthly  realm  which  he  had 
so  ably  won,  and  for  which  he  was  so  soon  to  die.  He  was 
not  only  lavish  in  alms,  giving  of  his  riches  with  humble  and 
tender  charity,  to  the  humble  and  the  poor,  to  the  sick,  to 
travellers,  and  to  needy  strangers  who  came  to  the  bishop  to 
be  nourished  with  the  word  of  life.  In  addition  he  constituted 
himself  Aidan's  interpreter,  "  and  it  was,"  says  Bede,  "  a 
touching  spectacle  to  see  the  king,  who  had,  during  his  long 
exile,  thoroughly  learned  the  Celtic  tongue,  translating  to  the 
great  chiefs  and  the  principal  officials  of  his  court,  the  lords 
and  thanes,  the  sermons  of  the  bishop,  who,  as  yet,  spoke 
but  imperfectly  the  language  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

The  tender  friendship  and  apostolic  brotherhood  which 
thus  united  the  king  and  the  bishop  of  the  Northumbrians 
has,  perhaps,  more  than  anything  else,  contributed  to  exalt 
and  hallow  their  memory  in  the  annals  of  Catholic  England. 

Oswald  was  too  active,  too  popular,  too  energetic,  and  too 
powerful  not  to  make  his  actions  and  influence  felt  beyond 
the  bounds  of  his  own  kingdom.    Oswald  contributed  largely 


■* 


* — ^ 

72  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  5. 

to  the  conversion  of  the  most  powerful  kingdom  of  the 
Heptarchy,  next  to  Northumbria — that  of  the  Saxons  of  the 
west, — Wessex,  a  kingdom  which  was  destined  to  absorb  and 
supplant  all  the  others.  The  kings  of  this  nation  also  pro- 
fessed to  be  of  the  blood  of  Odin ;  they  were  descended 
from  a  chief  called  Cerdic,  perhaps  the  bravest  of  all  the 
invaders  of  the  British  soil,  and  who  had  consolidated  his 
conquest  by  forty  years  of  craft  and  war.  It  was  among  this 
warlike  race  that  Oswald  sought  a  wife;  but  contrary  to 
ordinary  precedent,  it  was,  in  this  new  union,  the  husband 
and  not  the  wife,  who  took  the  initiative  in  conversion. 
When  he  went  for  his  bride,  Kineburga,  into  the  country  of 
the  West  Saxons,  the  King  of  Northumbria  met  there  an 
Italian  bishop,  who  had  undertaken  their  conversion,  finding 
them  entirely  pagan.  He  did  his  best  to  second  the 
laborious  efforts  of  the  foreign  missionary,  and  the  king, 
whose  daughter  he  was  about  to  wed,  having  consented  to 
be  baptized,  Oswald  stood  sponsor  for  him,  and  thus  became 
the  spiritual  father  of  him  whose  son-in-law  he  was  about  to 
become.  He  took  back  to  Northumbria  with  him  the  young 
convert  who  soon  bore  him  a  son,  little  worthy  of  his  sire, 
but  yet  destined  at  least  to  be  the  founder  of  a  monastery 
which  acted  a  part  of  some  importance  in  the  history  of 
the  people. 

All  this  prosperity  was  soon  to  end,  as  all  that  is  good 
and  beautiful  ends  here  below.  The  terrible  Penda  was 
still  alive,  and  under  the  iron  hand  of  that  redoubtable 
warrior,  Mercia  remained  the  stronghold  of  paganism,  even 
as  Northumbria  had  become  under  Edwin  and  Oswald  the 
centre  of  Christian  life  in  Great  Britain.  He  had  left 
unrevenged  the  death  of  his  ally,  the  Briton,  Cadwallon  ;  he 
had  done  nothing  to  hinder  the  accession  and  establishment 
of  a  new  Christian  king  in  Northumbria.  But  when  that 
king  essayed  to  cross  the  river  which  formed  the  boundary 

^ ^ 


i 


*- 


August  S-1 


6*.  Oswald. 


73 


of  the  two  kingdoms,  and  to  unite  to  his  domain  a  province 
which  had  always  belonged  to  the  Mercians,  Penda,  notwith- 
standing his  age,  resumed  his  old  inveteracy  towards  those 
whom  he  saw — again  like  Edwin — deserting  the  worship  of 
their  common  ancestor  Odin,  and  claiming  an  insupportable 
supremacy  over  all  the  Saxons,  Pagan  or  Christian.  He 
accordingly  renewed  with  the  Britons  the  alliance  which  had 
already  been  so  disastrous  to  the  Northumbrians,  and, 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  two  combined  armies, 
waged  for  two  years  a  sanguinary  war  against  Oswald,  which 
ended  in  a  decisive  battle  at  Maserfeld,  on  the  western 
border  of  Mercia  and  Northumbria.  The  struggle  was 
fierce ;  the  brother  of  Penda  perished  in  the  fight,  but 
Oswald,  the  great  and  beloved  Oswald,  shared  the  same 
fate.  He  died  on  the  field,  in  the  flower  of  his  years,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-eight.  There  he  fell — the  historian  of  the 
English  Church  says,  with  emphasis — fighting  for  his  country. 
But  his  last  word,  his  last  thought,  was  for  heaven,  and  for 
the  eternal  welfare  of  his  people.  "  My  God,"  said  he,  on 
seeing  himself  encircled  with  enemies,  overwhelmed  by 
numbers,  and  already  pierced  by  a  forest  of  arrows  and 
lances — "  My  God  !  save  their  souls."  The  last  cry  of  this 
saintly  spirit,  this  young  hero,  remained  long  graven  on  the 
memory  of  the  Saxon  people,  and  passed  into  a  proverb  to 
denote  those  who  prayed  without  ceasing  in  life  and  in 
death. 

The  ferocity  of  Penda  was  not  even  satisfied  by  the  death 
of  his  young  rival.  When  the  dead  body  of  the  King  of 
Northumbria  was  brought  from  the  battle-field  into  his  presen  ce, 
the  old  savage  caused  the  head  and  hands  of  the  hero  to  be 
cut  off,  and  set  up  on  stakes,  to  intimidate  both  conquerors 
and  conquered.  The  noble  remains  were  thus  exposed  for 
a  whole  year,  till  his  brother  and  avenger,  Oswy,  carried 
them  away.   The  hero's  head  was  then  taken  to  Lindisfarne, 


^- 


■^ 


74  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

to  the  great  monastery  which  he  had  so  richly  endowed,  and 
where  his  holy  friend  Aidan  awaited  it ;  but  his  hands  were 
deposited  in  a  chapel  in  the  royal  fortress  of  Bamborough, 
the  cradle  of  that  Northumbrian  dominion  which  the  arms 
of  his  ancestors  had  founded,  and  which  his  own  had  so 
valiantly  restored. 

Thus  perished,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight,  Oswald, 
ranked  by  the  Church  among  her  martyrs,  and  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  people  among  its  saints  and  heroes  of  most  enduring 
fame.  Through  the  obscurity  of  that  thankless  and  confused 
age,  the  eye  rests  gratefully  on  this  young  prince,  reared  in 
exile  among  the  hereditary  enemies  of  his  race,  who  was 
consoled  for  the  loss  of  a  throne  by  his  conversion  to 
Christianity,  who  regained  the  kingdom  of  his  fathers  at  the 
point  of  the  sword,  and  planted  the  first  cross  on  his  native 
soil  at  the  moment  when  he  freed  it  from  the  usurper, 
crowned  by  the  love  and  devotion  of  the  people  on  whom 
he  bestowed  the  blessings  of  peace  and  of  supreme  truth, 
spending  his  very  life  for  its  sake  \  united  for  a  few  short 
years  to  a  wife  whom,  in  marrying,  he  had  made  a  Christian ; 
gentle  and  strong,  serious  and  sincere,  pious  and  intelligent, 
humble  and  bold,  active  and  gracious,  a  soldier  and  a 
missionary,  a  king  and  a  martyr,  slain  in  the  flower  of  his 
age  on  the  field  of  battle,  fighting  for  his  country,  and 
praying  for  his  subjects.  Where  shall  we  find  in  all  history 
a  hero  more  nearly  approaching  the  ideal,  more  richly 
gifted,  more  worthy  of  eternal  remembrance,  and,  it  must  be 
added,  more  completely  forgotten  ? 


^ .{, 


» 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION. 
From  the  Vienna  Missal. 


Aug.,  p.  74.] 


[Aug.  6. 


•J.- 


August 6.]    The  Transfiguration  of  our  Lord.         75 


August  6. 

The  Transfiguration  of  Our  Lord,  on  Mount  Tabor. 

S.  Sixrus  II.,  Pope,  M.  at  Rome;  a.d.  258. 

SS.  Justus  and  Pastor,  MM.  at  Akala  de  Henares  in  Spain  ; 

A.D.  304. 

S.  HoRMiSDAS,  Pope  of  Rome  ;  a.d.  523. 
S.  AccA,  B.  of  Hexkajn;  circ.  A.D.  740. 
B.  ScHETZELO,^.  at  Luxemburg ;  circ.  a.d.  1138. 

THE  TRANSFIGURATION  OF  OUR  LORD. 

[Roman  Martyrology  ;  that  attributed  to  S.  Jerome.  In  a  Kalendar  of 
the  Church  of  Cologne  of  the  gth  cent.,  on  July  27.  In  the  Greek  Church 
it  is  called  the  Feast  of  Tabor.  Also  the  Coptic  Kalendar.  Anglican 
reformed  Kalendar.] 

|;HIS  festival  is  kept  by  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Churches  in  commemoration  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion of  our  Lord  on  Mount  Tabor,  before  His 
passion,  as  recorded  in  Matt.  xvii.  i — 9  ;  Mark  ix. 
2 — 9  ;  Luke  ix.  28 — T^d.  The  festival  was  observed  in  Spain 
in  the  time  of  S.  Ildephonsus.  for  he  says  that  on  it  mass  is 
said  thrice,  as  on  the  great  festivals,  and  that  all  the  faithful 
communicate  on  that  day.  It  was  an  ancient  custom  on 
this  day  for  the  deacon  to  press  three  drops  of  juice  from 
a  ripe  grape-bunch  into  the  chalice  for  mass. 


*- 


S.  SIXTUS  XL,  POPE  M, 
(a.d.  258.) 

[Roman,  Carthaginian,  and  all  Latin  Martyrologies.  By  the  Greeks  on 
Aug.  10.  Authorities :— The  letters  of  Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius, 
Prudentius,  and  the  Acts  of  his  Martyrdom,  which  are  not,  however,  genuine  ; 
they  represent  Valerian  as  in  Rome  when  he  was  engaged  in  the  Persian 
war,  and  Decius  as  being  emperor,  whereas  he  died  six  years  before.] 

SixTus,  or,  more  properly,  Xystus,  an  Athenian,  suc- 
ceeded Pope  Stephen  on  the  throne  of  S.  Peter,  in  the 
midst  of  the  controversy  on  heretical  baptisms. 


* 


76  Lives  of  the  Samts.  [Augusts. 

The  first  part  of  the  pontificate  of  Sixtus  seems  to  have 
been  tranquil ;  and  Pontius,  the  biographer  of  S.  Cyprian, 
speaks  of  him  as  a  good  and  pacific  prelate ;  expressions 
which  were  perhaps  used  in  allusion  to  the  unconciliating 
conduct  of  his  predecessor  Stephen,  who  had  excommuni- 
cated S.  Cyprian  for  affirming  that  the  baptisms  of  heretics 
were  invalid. 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria  wrote  letters  to  S.  Sixtus  on  the 
disputed  subject,  marked  by  a  tone  of  moderation,  and  a 
desire  for  peace  and  the  truth.  With  respect  to  his  own 
practice,  he  mentioned  that  he  did  not  baptize  persons  who 
returned  to  the  Church,  after  having  once  belonged  to  it,  and 
having  fallen  into  heresy ;  and  he  stated  that  he  had 
received  this  custom  from  his  predecessor  Heracles.  He 
also  wrote  to  Sixtus,  asking  for  his  advice  in  the  case  of  a 
man  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Alexandrian  Church 
lor  above  twenty  years,  but  who  was  now  suffering  great 
scruples  because  he  had  not  been  baptized  according  to  the 
forms  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  was  very  desirous  to  be 
baptized  over  again,  but  Dionysius  declined  doing  it,  in 
consideration  of  his  having  held  the  true  faith  for  so  many 
years,  and  having  so  often  partaken  of  the  Eucharist.  It 
will  be  observed  that  neither  of  these  cases  bears  directly 
upon  the  question  at  issue  between  the  Churches  of  Rome 
and  Carthage.  That  question  was  whether  a  man,  who  was 
known  to  have  been  baptized  by  heretics,  and  who  wished 
to  come  over  to  the  Church,  was  to  be  baptized  before  his 
admission ;  but  in  the  first  of  the  two  cases  mentioned  by 
Dionysius,  baptism  had  once  been  really  and  validly 
administered  in  the  Church ;  and  in  the  second  case,  a  man 
had  for  many  years  held  communion  with  the  Church  with- 
out it  having  been  known  that  he  had  been  baptized  by 
heretics.  The  answers  of  S.  Sixtus  to  these  letters  have, 
unfortunately,  not  been  preserved. 


*- 


August  6.) 


^S".  Sixhis  II. 


17 


Persecution  broke  out  in  Rome  in  the  summer  of  258, 
on  the  receipt  of  an  order  from  Valerian,  then  marching 
against  the  Persians.  The  terms  of  this  order  were,  that 
the  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  should  be  punished  with 
death ;  but  that  senators,  and  men  of  rank,  and  knights 
should  be  degraded  and  lose  their  property,  and  if  they  still 
persisted  in  being  Christians  they  were  to  suffer  capitally. 
Women  were  to  lose  their  property,  and  be  sent  into  banish- 
ment. If  any  persons  connected  with  the  imperial  house- 
hold had  confessed  before,  or  should  confess  now,  that  they 
were  Christians,  they  were  to  have  their  property  confis- 
cated, and  to  be  sent  abroad  as  prisoners,*  Such  was  the 
purport  of  this  sanguinary  edict,  and  the  magistrates  of 
Rome  showed  no  reluctance  to  execute  it.  Confiscations 
and  death  were  very  frequent ;  and  Sixtus,  with  two  of  his 
deacons,  Felicissimus  and  Agapitus,  were  arrested.  As  the 
aged  pontiff  was  being  led  to  the  Mamertine  prison,  his 
archdeacon,  Laurence,  cried  to  him,  "  O  my  father !  whither 
goest  thou  \vithout  thy  son?  Why,  O  holy  priest,  goest 
thou,  without  thy  deacon?"  Sixtus  turned  lo  him  and  said 
"  Weep  not,  my  son  !  after  three  days  shalt  thou  follow  me." 

According  to  the  Acts,  Sixtus  and  his  two  deacons  were 
decapitated,  and  Sixtus  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  S.  Calix- 
tus  ;  but  according  to  a  hymn  of  Prudentius,  he  was  crucified. 
The  Acts  are  most  probably  right,  though  we  have  not  got 
them  in  anything  like  their  original  condition,  and  they  are 
not  altogether  trustworthy.  Felicissimus  and  Agapitus  were 
laid  in  the  cemetery  of  Praetextatus. 

*  Epist.  S.  Cypriani,  87. 


*b- 


-* 


*- 


yS  '  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  6. 


&  HORMISDAS,  POPE. 
(A.D.  523.) 

[Roman  Modem  Martyrology,  inserted  by  Baronius  by  mistake.  Hfi 
name  occurs  '.  i  no  single  ancient  Martyrology.  Baronius  appeals  as  his 
authority  to  Bede,  but  the  Bede's  Martyrology  he  saw  was  that  published  in 
1564  by  Plautinus,  and  was  really  that  of  Ado,  with  large  interpolations, 
and  of  no  value  or  authority.  Authorities  : — The  Epistles  of  Hormisdas  ap. 
Labbe.] 

Pope  Hormisdas  succeeded  Symmachus  (July  19)  in  the 
apostolic  chair.  He  was  a  Campanian,  a  native  of  Frusi- 
num.  He  pursued  the  same  course  of  conduct  as  that 
adopted  by  Symmachus  in  reference  to  Eastern  afifairs, 
insisting  that  the  name  of  Acacius,  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, who  had  dared  to  equal  his  throne  to  that  of  Rome, 
and  who  was  involved  in  Eutychianism,  should  be  struck 
out  of  the  diptychs.  He  sent  four  ambassadors,  the 
bishops  Eunodius  and  Fortunatus,  the  priest  Venantius, 
and  VitaUs,  a  deacon,  to  Constantinople  to  demand  of  the 
Emperor  Anastasius  his  unequivocal  assent  to  the  Council 
of  Chalcedon  and  the  Tome  of  S.  Leo  ;  that  he  should  issue 
imperial  letters  compelling  a  general  union  of  the  Eastern 
Church  with  the  Church  of  Rome ;  and  that  Acacius, 
formerly  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  should  be  anathematized 
publicly,  with  a  string  of  other  heretics.  Anastasius  readily 
accepted  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  but  refused  to  allow 
Acacius  to  be  branded  as  a  heretic.  The  memory  of  the 
gentle,  holy  Acacius  was  still  dear  to  the  people  of  Con- 
stantinople; to  pubHcly  anathematize  him  would  be  to  incite 
a  riot. 

The  embassy  returned  to  Rome.  A  second  was  sent  to 
the  Eastern  Emperor,  conveying  to  him  a  letter  from  Hor- 
misdas, a  vehement,  uncompromising  invective  against  the 
memory  of  Acacius.  That  bishop's  communion  with  the 
followers  of  Dioscorus  and  Eutyches  infected  him  with  their 


-* 


tif- 


Angust  &1 


iS".  Hormisdas. 


79 


-* 


guilt  His  crime  was  darker  than  that  of  the  heresiarchs. 
The  condemnation  of  Acacius,  the  unpardonable  Acacius, 
who  had  claimed  equality  with  the  Pope,  was  now  the  only 
obstacle  to  the  peace  between  Eastern  and  Western 
Christendom.  Anastasius  replied  firmly,  "We  may  submit 
to  be  insulted,  but  we  will  not  be  commanded.  Hormis- 
das  must  await  the  accession  of  a  new  emperor,  before 
the  Churches  of  Rome  and  Byzantium  are  re-united  by  the 
sacrifice  of  him  who,  besides  his  communion  with  Eutychians, 
had  dared  to  equal  himself  with  the  successor  of  S.  Peter." 

Anastasius  died  in  518,  and  Justin,  a  rude  unlettered 
Dacian  peasant,  seized  the  throne  of  the  East.  Though 
ignorant,  he  was  uncompromisingly  orthodox.  Only  six  days 
after  his  proclamation,  the  Emperor  and  his  wife  Lupicina, 
who  had  been  his  slave  and  concubine,  and  who  took  the 
more  decorous  name  of  Euphemia,  entered  the  great  church. 
The  people  mingled  outcries  for  the  proclamation  of  the 
authority  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  with  their  acclama- 
tions of  greeting  to  the  new  Emperor,  and  with  cries  for  the 
unearthing  and  public  burning  of  the  bones  of  the  late 
Emperor  and  those  whom  he  had  favoured. 

John  of  Cappadocia,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  had  been 
Eutychian  under  Anastasius ;  he  became  zealously  Catholic 
on  the  day  of  Justin's  exaltation.  He  ascended  the  pulpit, 
and  declared  his  adhesion  to  the  decrees  of  Chalcedon. 
The  people  roared  out  their  demands  that  he  should 
pronounce  his  anathemas  against  those  of  the  opposing 
party;  the  obsequious  prelate  did  as  was  required.  John 
of  Cappadocia  hastily  assembled  a  council  of  forty  bishops, 
which  passed  canons  confirming  Chalcedon  ;  all  the  orthodox 
bishops  who  had  been  banished  were  recalled.  Justin  dis- 
qualified by  Edict  all  heretics  from  holding  civil  or  military 
office.  The  whole  East  followed  the  example  of  the  capital. 
Hormisdas  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  true  faith  again 


-* 


80  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts 


triumphant  in  the  East,  and  heresy  confounded;  he  had 
also  the  gratification  of  seeing  the  obnoxious  name  of 
Acacius  expunged  from  the  diptychs.     He  died  in  52.3. 


S.  ACCA,  B.  OF  HEXHAM. 

(about   A.D.    740.) 

[Dempster  in  his  Scottish  Menology,  and  Camerarius.  In  the  former  on 
Aug.  6,  in  the  latter  on  Jan.  i8.  In  the  Anglican  Martyrologies  on  Feb. 
19.     Authorities  :— Bade,  Simeon  of  Durham,  and  Richard  of  Hexham.] 

AccA,  the  disciple  of  Bosa,  Bishop  of  York,  and  after- 
wards a  faithful  follower  of  S.  Wilfrid,  succeeded  him  in  the 
•Bishopric  of  Hagulstad  or  Hexham,  in  710.  "He  was," 
says  Bede,  "a  most  active  man,  and  great  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  man  ;  he  much  adorned  and  added  to  the  structure 
of  his  church,  dedicated  to  S.  Andrew.  For  he  made  it  his 
business,  and  does  so  still,  to  procure  relics  of  the  blessed 
apostles  and  martyrs  of  Christ  from  all  parts,  to  place  them 
on  altars,  dividing  the  same  by  arches  in  the  walls  of  the 
church.  Besides  which,  he  diligently  gathered  the  histories 
of  their  sufferings,  together  with  other  ecclesiastical  writings, 
and  erected  there  a  very  large  and  noble  library.  He  like- 
wise provided  industriously  holy  vessels,  lights,  and  such 
things  as  pertain  to  the  adornment  of  the  house  of  God. 
He  also  invited  to  him  a  famous  singer,  named  Maban,  who 
had  been  taught  to  sing  by  the  successors  of  the  disciples  of 
the  Blessed  Gregory  in  Kent,  for  him  to  instruct  himself  and 
his  clergy;  and  kept  him  twelve  years,  to  teach  such 
ecclesiastical  songs  as  were  not  known,  and  to  restore  those 
which  were  corrupted  through  neglect  or  want  of  use. 

"  For  Bishop  Acca  was  a  most  expert  singer  himself,  and 
most  learned  in  holy  Scriptures,  and  most  pure  in  the 
confession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  most  observant  of  the 

i — — * 


August  6.] 


B.  Schetzelo. 


8i 


-* 


rules  of  ecclesiastical  institutions  ;  nor  did  he  ever  cease  to 
be  so  till  he  received  the  reward  of  his  pious  devotion."' 

In  733  Acca  was  driven  from  his  bishopric/  and  he 
probably  then  went  to  Witherne,  or  Candida  Casa,  in 
Scotland,  of  Avliich  place  the  Scottish  martyrologists  regard 
him  as  bishop.  But  he  was  there  for  only  a  short  time, 
apparently  two  years,  after  which  he  returned  to  Hexham, 
where  he  died. 


B.  SCHETZELO,  H. 

(a.d.  1138.) 

[Belgian  Mnrtyrologies.  Venerated  in  Luxemburg.  Cistercian  Martyr- 
ologies.  Authorities  : — A  life  by  Heribert,  a  contemporary,  who  knew  him, 
and  had  spoken  with  him.] 

The  Blessed  Schetzelo  was  a  hermit  living  in  the  woods 
near  Luxemburg,  feeding  on  roots  and  acorns.  His  clothing 
was  so  scanty  as  to  be  scarcely  decent,  wherefore  S.  Bernard, 
who  greatly  respected  him,  sent  him  a  shirt  and  a  pair  of 
drawers  by  some  of  his  monks.  Schetzelo  at  once  put  them 
on  him,  and  then  pulled  them  off  again,  saying  that  he  found 
he  could  do  without  them,  and  that  it  was  his  ambition  to 
live  without  superfluities.  The  monks  asked  him  if  he  had 
suffered  many  temptations.  "Yes,"  he  answered,  "the  life 
of  man  is  one  long  series  of  temptations."  And  then  he  told 
them  how  he  had  once  given  way ;  an  occasion  of  bitter  self- 
reproach  ever  after.  One  winter  he  was  lying  out  in  the 
snow,  and  the  drift  covered  all  his  body,  except  the  face, 
where  his  breath  had  melted  a  hole.  A  poor  half-frozen 
rabbit,  seeking  shelter,  jumped  into  the  hole  and  crouched 
down  on  the  hermit's  breast.  He  v^as  moved  first  to 
laughter,  and  then  to  pleasure,  for  the  little  creature,  numbed 
with  cold,  suffered  him  to  stroke  its  fur  ;  and  so,  when 
Schetzelo  ought  to  have  been  praying  and  meditating,  he 
was  playing  with  the  rabbit  under  the  snow. 

'  Hist.  Eccl.,  lib.  v.  c.  20.  *  A.  S.  Chron.  sub.  ann. 

VOL.  IX.  6 


*- 


-^ 


qn ij< 

82  Lzves  of  the  Saints.  [August  7. 


August  7. 

Thk  Name  of  Jesus. 

S.  Claudia,  Matr.  at  Sahinum  in  Utnbria;  circ.  A.D.  xia 

S.  DoNATUS,  B.M.  at  Arezzo  in  Tuscany ;  a.d.  362. 

S.  DoMETius,  Mk.  M.  at  Nisibis  in  Mesopotamia;  A.D.  363. 

S.  ViCTRiCiUS,  B.C.  0/ Rotten;  circ.  A.D.  407. 

S.  Albert,  C.  at  Messina  in  Sicily;  a.d.  1306. 

S.  Cajetan,  C.  at  Naples ;  a.d.  1547. 

THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 

[Salisbury  and  York  Kalendars,  as  red-letter  days.     Aberdeen  Breviary  a 
a  minor  double.     Anglican  reformed  Kalendar.] 

SPECIAL  office,  on  January  14th,  in  honour  of 
the  Holy  Name,  was  granted  by  Pope  Clement 
VH.,  to  the  Franciscan  Order,  in  1530.  It  was 
extended  to  the  Carthusians  in  1643,  and  after- 
wards to  Spain,  on  the  second  Sunday  after  Epiphany  ;  and 
was  finally  promulgated  to  the  Latin  Church  by  Innocent 
XIIL,  in  17 2 1,  at  the  request  of  Charles  VI.  Emperor  of 
Germany,  to  be  observed  on  the  second  Sunday  after  the 
Epiphany. 

But  in  the  EngUsh  Church,  August  7th  was  observed  as 
the  festival  of  the  Holy  Name  long  before  the  Reformation. 


S.  CLAUDIA,  MATR. 
(about  a.d.   1 10.) 

[Wilson  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology.     Authority  : — ^The  Acts  of  S. 
Pudens,  S.  Praxedes,  and  S.  Pudentiana.] 

Ninety-seven  years  after  the  second  invasion  of  Britain 
by  Julius  Caesar,  the  Emperor  Claudius,  at  the  instigation  ot 
a  British  exile  named  Beric,  determined  upon  invading  the 
island ;  and  he  directed  the  senator  Aulus  Plautius  to  bring 


-* 


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August  7.] 


kS".  Claudia. 


83 


it  under  the  Imperial  dominion.  The  Britons,  under 
Caradog  (Caractacus),  one  of  the  sons  of  Cunobelin,  made 
a  vigorous  resistance  to  the  invaders  ;  but  Plautius,  by  the 
aid  of  light-armed  German  auxiliaries,  drove  the  natives  over 
the  Thames ;  and  the  Emperor,  who  himself  paid  a  short 
visit  to  Britain,  gained  a  victory,  and  received  the  submission 
of  the  Cantii,  Atrebates,  Regni,  and  Trinobantes,  the  tribes 
inhabiting  the  south-east  corner  of  the  island.  Claudius  then 
hastened  back  to  Rome  to  enjoy  a  pompous  triumph,  and 
the  title  of  Britannicus,  while  he  left  the  work  of  conquest 
to  be  pursued  by  his  lieutenants,  Plautius  and  Flavius 
Vespasian.  The  work,  indeed,  was  scarcely  begun. 
Vespasian  had  to  fight  no  less  than  thirty  battles  before 
he  subdued  the  Belgae  and  the  Durotriges,  two  nations 
which  occupied  the  limited  territory  now  forming  the 
counties  of  Hampshire  and  Dorset  with  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
In  one  of  these  battles  he  nearly  lost  his  life,  and  was  saved 
only  by  the  devoted  courage  of  his  son  Titus,  the  future 
conqueror  of  Jerusalem. 

In  the  meantime,  Caractacus,  and  the  Britons  to  the 
north  of  the  Thames,  opposed  to  the  invaders  a  resistance 
equally  obstinate ;  and,  at  the  end  of  five  years,  the  able 
Plautius,  although  constantly  victorious  in  the  field,  was 
compelled  to  leave  to  his  successor,  Ostorius  Scapula,  the 
task  of  bringing  the  Silures  under  subjection.  At  last, 
however,  after  Caractacus  had  maintained  the  unequal 
contest  for  three  years  longer,  he  was  defeated  by  Ostorius 
in  a  great  battle  at  the  place  now  called  Caer-Caradoc,  in 
Shropshire.  The  wife  and  daughter  of  the  British  prince 
were  captured ;  his  brothers  surrendered  themselves ;  and, 
finally,  he  himself  was  betrayed  by  his  stepmother,  Queen 
Carlismandua,*  into  the  hands  of  the  victor,  who  sent  his 
illustrious  prisoners  in  chains  to  Rome. 

1  Her  British  name  was  Aregwedd  Foeddog. 

6—2 


►i.- 


-* 


* * 

84  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  7. 

Great  was  the  interest  felt  in  Italy,  and  in  the  metropolis 
of  the  world,  in  gazing  upon  the  man  who  had  for  nine  years 
held  at  bay  the  arms  and  the  ablest  generals  of  the  empire. 
Caractacus,  in  his  adversity,  bore  himself  with  a  dignity  and 
composure  which  no  way  abated  even  in  the  presence  of  the 
Emperor.  Claudius,  on  his  part,  touched  with  compassion, 
ordered  the  fallen  prince  and  his  lamily  to  be  set  at  liberty ; 
and  even,  as  some  conceive,  restored  one  of  the  royal 
brothers  to  a  certain  degree  of  authority  in  the  conquered 
portion  of  his  native  country.  It  is  added,  that  Caractacus, 
on  traversing  the  imperial  city  after  his  release,  and  viewing 
its  splendour  and  extent,  could  not  forbear  exclaiming, — 
"  Why,  when  possessed  of  such  magnificence  as  this,  do  ye 
covet  my  humble  cottage  in  Britain  ?" 

Caractacus  and  his  family  were  captured  in  a.d.  51, 
According  to  Welsh  accounts,  along  with  Caractacus  was 
taken  Bran  ab  Llyr,  his  father,  who  was  detained  in  Rome 
for  seven  years  as  hostage  for  his  son.  There  he  embraced 
Christianity,  and  he  is  regarded  as  the  first  to  introduce  the 
Christian  faith  into  Britain,  to  which  he  returned  in  a.d.  58, 
bringing  with  him  three  or  four  teachers,  Hid,  Cyndaf, 
Arwystli  Hen,'  and  Mawan;  and  through  their  instru 
mentality  the  gospel  was  first  preached  in  this  country.  But 
the  classic  historians  say  nothing  of  the  father  of  Caractacus 
being  brought  to  Rome  ;  Dion  Cassius  says  that  Caractacus 
was  the  son  of  CunobeUn,  who  died  before  the  war  com- 
menced, and  Tacitus,  who  mentions  the  capture,  or  sur- 
render, of  the  several  members  of  the  family  of  Caractacus, 
describes  their  appearance  before  Claudius,  and  says  nothing 
of  Bran. 

1  On  March  isth  I  said  that  no  Western  traditions  confirmed  the  Greek  statement 
that  Aristobulus,  disciple  of  S.  Paul,  preached  the  Gospel  in  Britain.  In  the  Welsh 
Triads  Hid  and  Cyndaf  are  said  to  have  been  "  Men  of  Israel,"  or  Christian  Jews, 
but  Arwystli  to  have  been  "  a  man  of  Italy,"  or  a  Roman.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
he  may  have  been  Aristobulus.     He  is  said  to  have  died  at  Glastonbury,  a.d.  99. 

*- >J< 


*- 


* 


August  7.  J 


6".  Claudia. 


85 


Nevertheless  the  Welsh  statements  may  not  be  incorrect. 
Cunobelin  may  have  been  the  grandfather  of  Caractaciis, 
and  Bran  may  have  been  taken  and  sent  to  Rome  after 
Caractacus,  and  there  retained  as  hostage. 

According  to  tradition,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Caractacus, 
named  after  her  baptism  Claudia,  no  doubt  in  honour  of  the 
Emperor,  who  had  treated  the  family  with  so  great  generosity, 
was  retained  in  Rome  as  hostage  along  with  Bran,  ami 
married  the  noble  Senator  Aulus  Pudens.  She  is  men- 
tioned in  2  Tim.  iv.  21,  as  a  Christian  woman,  sending 
her  salutations  to  Timothy  from  Rome.  Some  think  she 
was  the  daughter  of  the  British  prince,  Cogidubnus,  an  ally 
of  Rome,  who  took  the  name  of  his  imperial  patron, 
Tiberius  Claudius,  but  the  balance  of  probability  is  that  she 
was  the  daughter  of  Caractacus.  The  family  of  Bran  "  the 
blessed  "  was  regarded  by  the  ancient  Welsh  as  one  of  the 
three  great  holy  families  of  Britain.  Eigen,  a  daughter  of 
Caradog,  is  recorded  as  the  first  female  saint  among  the 
Britons.*  Cyllin,  a  son  of  Caradog,  is  also  called  a  saint. 
Claudia  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Welsh  records,  but  that  is 
not  surprising,  as  she  was  very  young  when  taken  to  Rome, 
and  did  not  return  to  Britain,  but  remained  at  Rome. 
Cyllin,  the  son  of  Caradog,  was  the  grandfather  of  Lleunvg, 
the  Lucius  of  later  tradition,  who  obtained  Christian  teachers 
from  Rome. 

That  Claudius  should  retain  some  of  the  family  of 
Caractacus  as  hostages  in  Rome  is  most  probable,  for  the 
Silures,  undismayed  by  the  loss  of  their  heroic  king,  main- 
tained the  contest  for  freedom  with  unabated  determination, 
and  Ostorius,  worn  out  with  labour  and  disappointment,  died 
before  he  was  able  to  effect  the  subjugation  of  that  nation. 
Under  his  two  next  successors,  the  Romans  did  little  more 
than  hold  their  ground  in  the  island,  which,  it  is  even  said, 

'  She  mamed  Sarllog,  lord  ol  Caer  Sarllog,  or  Old  Sarum. 


*- 


-* 


^- 


86 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  7. 


-* 


that  the  Emperor  Nero  had,  at  one  time,  serious  thoughts  of 
abandoning  altogether,  as  a  conquest  not  worth  the  expense 
of  his  retention. 

In  the  Second  Epistle  to  S.  Timothy,  Pudens  is  men- 
tioned in  the  same  verse  as  Claudia,  and  at  that  time  they 
were  certainly  married.  She  and  Pudens  received  S.  Peter 
into  their  house,  and  were  either  baptized  by  him  or  by 
S.  Paul,  probably  by  the  latter.  The  intimate  relations 
with  the  family  into  which  he  was  brought  may  have  been 
the  occasion  of  his  sending  Aristobulus  and  other  mis- 
sionaries with  Bran  to  Britain,  This  must  have  been  about 
A.D.  63  ;  whereas  Bran's  return  to  Britain,  supposing  him  to 
have  been  taken  at  the  same  time  as  Caractacus,  would 
have  been  in  58.  But  it  is  probable  that  Bran  became 
hostage  after  the  release  of  Caractacus,  in  which  case  the 
seven  years  of  his  residence  in  Rome  may  have  closed  in 
63.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  Christianity  had  made  sufficient 
way  among  the  Gentiles  in  Rome  so  early  as  51-58  as  to 
reach  the  British  hostages.  Claudia  and  Pudens  were  the 
parents  of  Novatus,  Timotheus,  Praxedes  and  Pudentiana, 
all  of  whom  are  numbered  with  the  saints. 

After  a  long  life,  spent  in  the  exercise  of  Christian  virtues, 
she  died  at  her  husband's  villa  at  Sabinum  in  Umbria,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  2nd  cent.  Her  body  was  translated  to 
Rome  by  her  sons,  and  laid  in  the  tomb  of  Pudens,  beside 
her  husband.  The  above  is  based  on  suppositions  more 
or  less  hazardous,  rather  than  on  historical  evidence. 


*- 


-* 


Aug. ,  p.  86.  ] 


S.  ALBERT   OF   SICILY.      After  Cahier. 


[Aug.  7. 


*- 


-* 


August  7.] 


S.  Cajetan. 


87 


S.  CAJETAN,  C. 
(a.d.  1547.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Beatified  by  Urban  VIII.,  canonized  by  Clement 
X.  Authorities  : — A  life  by  Antonio  Caraccioli,  Priest  of  his  Order,  pub- 
lished in  1612  ;  another  by  F.  Gius.  Silos,  Rome,  1671  ;  another  by  Del 
Tuffa,  B.  of  Acerra,  Paris,  i6g8  ;  another,  in  Italian,  by  Stefano  Pepe, 
1657  :  another,  also  in  Italian,  by  Gio.  Batt.  Castaldo,  Vicenza,  1627,  &c.] 

S.  Cajetan,  or  Gaetan,  was  bom  at  Vicenza  in  1480,  and 
was  the  son  of  Caspar  de  Thienna  and  Maria  Porta.  His 
parents  were  of  noble  family.  Their  eldest  son  was  John 
Baptist,  but  the  second  was  called  Gaetan,  after  a  great- 
uncle,  Gaetan  de  Thienna,  Canon  of  Padua,  a  writer  on 
Aristotle's  natural  philosophy. 

From  an  early  age  he  was  destined  for  the  ecclesiastical 
state,  and  his  youthful  piety  promised  to  make  the  arrange- 
ment one  not  of  family  convenience  only,  but  of  deliberate 
choice  on  his  part.  He  went  to  Rome,  where,  on  account 
of  his  rank,  he  was  appointed  prothonotary  at  the  Papal 
court,  by  Julius  IL,  in  1508,  when  he  was  twenty-eight 
years  old.  There  existed  at  this  time  at  Rome  a  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Love  of  God,  established  in  the  church  of  SS. 
Sylvester  and  Dorothea,  the  objects  of  which  were  the 
keeping  alive  the  divine  love  in  the  hearts  of  its  members, 
and  mutual  support  against  temptations.  Cajetan  joined 
this  community,  and  inspired  it  with  his  burning  enthusiasm 
for  what  is  good.  At  that  time  Christians,  even  the  most 
devout,  communicated  rarely, — some  three  or  four  times  in 
the  year.  Cajetan  urged  that  this  was  an  abuse,  that  the 
soul  needed  more  frequent  nourishment,  and  at  his  exhorta- 
tion, and  led  by  his  example,  many  became  monthly,  and 
even  weekly  communicants. 

He  received  the  subdiaconate,  the  diaconate,  and  the 
priesthood  on  three  successive  festivals.  His  fervour  and 
enthusiasm  in  approaching  the  altar  threw  him  into  trans- 


*- 


-* 


-^ 


8S 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  7. 


ports,  and  he  believed  on  one  occasion  that  he  saw  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  who  placed  in  his  arms  her  Divine  Son.  He 
relates  this  vision  in  a  letter  to  his  sister  Laura,  religious  of 
Santa  Croce,  at  Brescia.  The  death  of  his  mother  neces- 
sitated his  return  to  Vicenza,  where  he  at  once,  in  opposition 
to  the  wishes  of  his  family,  joined  a  confraternity  of  poor 
labourers,  whose  object  was  much  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Society  of  the  Love  of  God,  of  which  he  had  been  a  zealous 
member  in  Rome.  His  earnest,  loving  exhortations  stimu- 
lated the  zeal  of  their  humble  souls,  and  many  were  seen 
communicating  at  the  altar  thrice  in  the  week. 

The  Congregation  grew  under  his  direction,  and  under- 
took the  charge  of  a  hospital  of  incurables.  All  his 
charitable  works  prospered.  He  was  the  life,  the  soul,  of 
the  Society  at  Vicenza,  indefatigable  in  the  hospital,  the 
support  and  refuge  of  the  poor.  In  the  midst  of  this  active 
work,  suddenly,  without  giving  his  reasons,  his  director, 
Father  Giovanni-Baptisto  Creno,  ordered  him  to  leave 
Vicenza  and  go  to  Venice.  The  wise  confessor  saw  that 
the  enthusiasm  and  abilities  of  Cajetan  demanded  a  wider 
sphere  than  the  little  town  of  Vicenza. 

Without  hesitation  or  delay,  Cajetan  went  forth,  like  a 
second  Abraham,  from  his  native  place.  His  fame  had 
reached  Venice,  and  he  was  at  once  given  work  in  the 
hospital.  Rapidly  he  became  in  Venice  what  he  had  been 
in  Vicenza,  the  centre  of  all  the  spiritual  and  charitable 
agencies  at  work  in  that  great  city. 

His  director  left  him  there  awhile,  till  he  was  satisfied 
with  his  unflagging  devotion,  and  then  he  abruptly  ordered 
him  to  Rome. 

Cajetan  at  once,  without  disputing  his  orders,  resigned  his 
work  at  Venice  into  other  hands,  and  journeyed  to  Rome. 
There  he  rejoined  the  Society  of  Divine  Love.  It  was 
composed   of  sixty   members,   all   members   of  illustrious 


-* 


^ , ^ 

August  7.]  »^-  Caje^au.  89 

families,  or  famous  for  their  position  in  the  Church  or  in  the 
world  of  letters. 

The  state  of  the  Church  excited  in  Cajetan  the  deepest 
distress.  Throughout  his  after  life,  the  corruption  of  morals, 
the  ambition,  the  irreligion  of  the  clergy,  weighed  on  the 
soul  of  the  holy  priest,  filling  him  if  not  with  despair,  yet 
certainly  with  unrelieved  despondency. 

Alexander  VL,  with  the  horrible  scandal  of  his  reign,  was 
passed  away,  but  his  successor  Julius  II.,  if  not  of  equally 
profligate  morals,  yet  by  his  insatiable  ambition,  which  scorned 
all  considerations  of  gratitude,  of  decency,  or  of  justice,  when 
they  obstructed  the  execution  of  his  schemes  of  temporal 
aggrandizement,  has  left  a  name  which  is  a  stain  on  the 
Papal  annals.  Many  of  the  prelates,  secular  as  well  as 
regular,  were  appointed  solely  because  of  their  family  influ- 
ence. They  were  younger  sons  of  noble  families,  who  had 
assumed  the  ecclesiastical  character  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  find  in  the  Church  stations  of  great  dignity  and 
affluence.  They  neglected  the  duties  of  their  ofiice  without 
compunction,  and  abandoned  themselves  without  reserve  to 
all  the  vices  to  which  great  wealth  and  idleness  naturally 
gave  birth.  "  For  some  years  before  the  Lutheran  and 
Calvinist  heresies  broke  forth,"  says  Bellarmine,  "  there 
was  no  justice  in  ecclesiastical  courts,  no  discipline  in 
morals,  no  knowledge  of  sacred  literature,  no  reverence  for 
sacred  things;  there  was  almost  no  religion  remaining."* 
The  Roman  Curia,  of  which  Cajetan  had  become  a 
member,  was  involved  in  extortion  of  money  over  the 
Catholic  world.  If  benefices  were  not  sold,  heavy  fees 
were  exacted  for  every  appointment.  As  the  idea  of  a 
composition  for  crimes  was  then  familiar,  every  ecclesiastic 
who  had  been  guilty  of  breach  of  the  moral  law  was  required 
to  pay  a  fine  before  he  could  receive  pardon  and  be  rein- 

^  Concio,  xxviL 
lj« — ){i 


* ^ 

90  Lives  of  the  Saints,  lAugustr. 

stated.  The  Curia  had  the  effrontery  to  pubUsh  a  book 
containing  a  tariff  of  their  fees.  A  deacon  guilty  of  murder 
was  absolved  for  twenty  crowns.  A  bishop,  or  abbot,  might 
assassinate  for  three  hundred  livres.  Any  ecclesiastic  might 
violate  his  vows  of  chastity,  even  with  the  most  aggravating 
circumstances,  for  the  third  part  of  that  sum.^ 

The  condition  of  the  Church  at  this  period  was  such,  that 
a  zealous  Catholic  writer  applies  to  it  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  "  The  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart 
faint.  From  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  to  the  head  there  is 
no  soundness  in  it ;  but  wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrefying 
sores."" 

The  object  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Love  of  God  was 
to  labour  for  the  remedy  of  these  miserable  evils,  at  least  in 
the  city  of  Rome.  But  as,  with  all  their  efforts,  they  made 
but  little  way,  four  of  the  principal  of  this  Congregation 
were  inspired  to  institute  an  Order  of  Regular  Clerks,  who, 
living  a  high  and  holy  life  themselves,  might  work  con- 
tinually to  restore  the  clergy  to  their  apostolic  condition. 
The  first  of  these  was  John  Peter  Caraffa,  then  Bishop  of 
Theate,  and  Archbishop  of  Brindisi,  afterwards  Pope  under 
the  name  of  Paul  IV.  The  second  was  our  saint,  Cajetan 
of  Thienna.  The  third  was  Paul  Consigliari,  of  the  noble 
family  of  Ghisleri,  and  the  fourth  was  Boniface  de  Colle,  a 
gentleman  of  Milan. 

These  four  founders  assembled  on  the  feast  of  the  Inven- 
tion of  the  Cross,  a.d.  1524,  and  supplicated  the  Pope  to 
sanction  their  foundation.  His  Holiness  hesitated  about 
accepting  the  surrender  of  his  bishopric  by  the  Bishop  of 
Theate,  but  yielded  finally  to  his  prayers.  The  College 
of  Cardinals  was  consulted  on  the  project  of  this  new 
establishment ;  it  objected  to  the  rule  laid  down  by  its 
founders  that  they  were  not  only  to  be  without  property, 

'  Taxat.  Cancelar.  Romans,  edit.  Francof.  1651.  '  IsaL  i.  5,  6. 


August?.]  •S'.  Cajetan.  91 

but  also  were  not  to  beg.  Such  a  condition  was  impossible, 
the  cardinals  supposed.  But  the  persistency  of  the  four 
founders  overcame  their  objection,  and  on  the  feast  of  the 
Exaltation  of  the  Cross,  Sept.  14,  in  the  same  year,  1524, 
the  four  having  renounced  all  their  benefices  and  property, 
made  their  profession  in  the  church  of  S.  Peter  in  the 
Vatican.  The  bull  of  approbation  had  been  issued  on  the 
preceding  June  24th ;  the  Pope  gave  them  the  title  of 
Regular  Clerks.  They  proceeded  to  elect  the  Bishop  of 
Theate  as  their  superior,  to  whom  the  Holy  Father  had 
continued  the  title  of  Bishop  ;  and  thence  they  obtained 
the  famihar  name  of  Theatines.  The  objects  of  the  institute 
were,  i,  to  set  an  example  of  a  holy  life  to  the  clergy;  2, 
to  observe  perfect  poverty  ;  3,  to  restore  to  their  proper 
dignity  the  services  of  the  Church,  which  were  in  too  many 
cases  performed  with  slovenliness,  and  irreverence;  4,  to 
animate  the  faithful  to  receive  the  sacraments  more 
frequently  than  was  then  usual ;  5,  to  preach  pure  and  whole- 
some doctrine  to  the  people,  instead  of  the  ridiculous 
insipid  matter  which  was  then  heard  from  the  pulpit ;  6,  to 
minister  to  the  sick  ;  7,  and  to  criminals  awaiting  death  ; 
and,  8,  to  oppose  the  heresies  then  spreading  through 
Christendom. 

When  these  four  founders  had  made  their  profession,  they 
retired  into  a  house  which  belonged  to  Boniface  de  CoUe  in 
the  Campus  Martius.  Several  persons  of  merit  joined  them, 
and  the  number  rose  to  twelve;  they  lived  together  with 
one  heart,  one  spirit,  one  will,  serving  the  sick  in  the 
hospitals,  preaching  to  the  people,  and  consoling  the 
unfortunate. 

In  the  fatal  battle  of  Pavia,  Francis  I.  of  France  had 
been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  On  the 
14th  January,  1526,  Francis  signed  a  treaty  at  Madrid, 
whereby  he  obtained  his  liberty,  promising  on  his  part  to 

1^) 


*- 


92 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  y. 


-* 


resign  all  his  pretensions  in  Italy.  The  humiliation  of  the 
great  opponent  of  Charles  V,  did  not  comport  with  the 
political  schemes  of  the  Pope  ;  as  it  left  Italy  at  the  mercy 
of  the  German  Emperor.  Clement  hastened  to  contract  a 
league  with  Francis,  the  Venetians  and  the  Duke  of  Milan, 
against  Charles  V.,  and  then  the  Pope  solemnly  released  the 
French  king  from  his  oaths  taken  in  the  treaty  of  Madrid. 
To  his  surprise  and  indignation,  the  Emperor  found  a 
powerful  combination  rise  up  against  him,  and  all  the 
advantages  of  the  battle  of  Pavia  escape  his  grasp.  He 
bitterly  accused  Clement  of  ingratitude  and  ambition,  and 
threatened  an  appeal  to  a  general  council  against  the  Pope. 

The  Constable  of  Bourbon,  at  the  head  of  troops  in  the 
Emperor's  pay,  marched  upon  Rome.  His  soldiers  had 
received  no  money  since  the  battle  of  Pavia,  and  were  on 
the  verge  of  mutiny.  On  the  5th  May,  1527,  they  were 
within  sight  of  the  churches  and  palaces  of  Rome.  The 
Constable  showed  his  needy  mercenaries  the  walls  of  that 
city  into  which,  as  the  capital  of  the  Christian  common- 
wealth, the  riches  of  all  Europe  had  flowed  during  many 
centuries  without  having  been  violated  by  a  hostile  hand ; 
and,  commanding  them  to  refresh  themselves  that  night,  as 
a  preparation  for  the  assault  next  day,  promised  them,  in 
reward  of  their  toils  and  valour,  the  possession  of  the 
treasures  it  contained. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  assault  was  made.  Three  dis- 
tinct bodies,  one  of  Germans,  another  of  Spaniards,  and  the 
last  of  Italians,  the  three  nations  of  which  the  army  was 
composed,  rushed  upon  the  walls  from  opposite  quarters.  The 
Constable  was  killed  in  the  assault,  but  the  veterans  who  de- 
fended the  walls  were  unable  to  resist  the  numbers  which 
poured  over  them ;  the  untrained  city  recruits  gave  way  at 
once. 

During  the  combat,  Clement  was  employed  at  the  high 


*- 


M- 


[August  7. 


S.  Cajetan. 


93 


altar  of  S.  Peter's,  offering  unavailing  prayers  for  victory. 
No  sooner  was  he  informed  that  his  troops  began  to  give 
way,  than  he  fled  with  precipitation  to  the  castle  of  S.  Angelo, 
with  thirteen  of  his  cardinals.  On  escaping  from  the  Vati- 
can, he  had  to  thread  his  way  amongst  his  troops  Hying 
before  an  enemy  who  pursued  without  giving  quarter ;  he 
heard  the  lamentations  of  the  Roman  citizens,  and  beheld 
the  beginning  of  those  calamities  which  his  want  of  judgment 
had  provoked. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe,  or  even  to  imagine,  the  misery 
and  horror  of  the  scene  that  followed.  Whatever  a  city 
taken  by  storm  can  dread  from  military  rage,  unrestrained 
by  discipline ;  whatever  excesses  the  need  of  the  Germans, 
the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards,  or  the  licentiousness  of  the 
Italians  could  commit,  the  wretched  inhabitants  were 
obliged  to  suffer;  churches,  palaces,  and  the  houses  of 
private  persons  were  plundered  without  distinction.  No 
age,  or  character,  or  sex,  was  exempt  from  injury.  Cardi- 
nals, nobles,  priests,  matrons,  virgins,  were  all  the  prey  of 
soldiers,  and  at  the  mercy  of  men  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
humanity.  Nor  did  these  outrages  cease,  as  is  usual  in 
towns  which  are  carried  by  assault,  when  the  first  fury  of 
the  storm  was  over ;  the  imperialists,  without  a  master,  now 
that  the  Constable  of  Bourbon  was  dead,  kept  possession  of 
Rome  several  months ;  and  during  all  that  time  the  inso- 
lence and  brutality  of  the  soldiers  hardly  abated.  Rome, 
though  taken  several  different  times  by  the  northern  nations, 
who  overran  the  empire  in  the  5th  and  6th  centuries,  was 
never  treated  with  so  much  cruelty  by  the  barbarous  and 
heathen  Huns,  the  Arian  Vandals  or  Goths,  as  now  by  the 
soldiers  of  a  Catholic  monarch,  the  bulwark  of  the  Church 
against  Protestantism  in  Germany.' 

*  An  exception  may  perhaps  be  made  for  the  devastation  of  Rome  by  the  Norman 
and  Saracen  allies  of  Gregory  VII.  in  1083. 


^- 


-* 


*- 


-* 


94 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  7. 


In  that  dreadful  period  of  horror  and  outrage,  Cajetan  and 
the  Theatines  did  not  escape.  Not  permitted  to  beg,  and 
without  money,  they  would  have  perished  of  starvation  but 
for  the  solicitude  of  a  poor  man,  who  collected  for  them 
such  scraps  of  food  as  had  been  rejected  by  the  soldiers. 
An  Itahan  mercenary,  who  had  once  been  a  servant  of 
Cajetan  at  Vicenza,  recognised  him;  and  knowing  that  his 
master  in  former  days  had  been  wealthy,  concluded  he 
was  so  still.  With  other  soldiers,  he  broke  into  the  house 
of  the  Theatines,  and  ransacked  it  from  attic  to  cellar  in 
search  of  spoils,  but  in  vain.  Thinking  that  Cajetan  must 
have  hidden  his  money  and  valuables,  the  soldiers  sub- 
jected him  to  cruel  tortures,  crushing  his  fingers,  suspending 
him  by  his  thumbs,  and  beating  him.  Cajetan  bore  all 
without  a  murmur  ;  but  on  the  soldiers  retiring,  he  and  his 
companions  fled  Rome,  and  descended  the  Tiber  in  a  boat 
to  Ostia,  They  then  took  refuge  in  Venice,  where  they  were 
given  a  house  and  a  church.  The  three  years  of  superiorship 
of  the  Bishop  of  Theate  having  expired,  Cajetan  was  elected 
Superior ;  and  at  the  termination  of  his  three  years  of  govern- 
ment, spent  peaceably  at  Venice,  the  Bishop  of  Theate  was 
re-elected. 

Soon  after,  Cajetan  was  sent  to  Naples  to  found  there  a 
house  of  his  Order.  On  his  way  he  passed  through  Rome, 
and  presented  himself  before  the  Pope  with  red,  sunburnt 
face.  "  How,  my  son,  have  you  travelled  in  this  summer 
heat  ?" 

"It  is  better.  Holy  Father,"  answered  Cajetan,  "to  de- 
spise one's  life,  than  fail  in  obedience." 

At  Naples  he  took  possession  of  a  house  outside  the  to^\^l, 
given  him  by  the  Count  of  Oppido.  The  Count  was  ill- 
satisfied  with  the  rule  which  forbade  the  clerks  owning  pos- 
sessions, and  he  wished  to  endow  the  house  with  lands. 

Cajetan  steadily  refused. 


*b- 


-* 


^ 1^ 

Augusts]  ^-  Q;>^^«-  95 

"  But,  my  father,  what  security  have  you  got  that  you 
will  be  able  to  obtain  daily  sustenance  ?" 

"  What  security  have  you,  my  lord  ?" 

"  Oh  !  as  for  me,"  said  the  Count,  "  I  trust  that  my 
farmers  will  pay  their  rents," 

"  But  if  the  crops  fail  they  will  not  be  able  to  do  so." 

"  We  must  trust  God  to  give  the  seasons." 

"So,  so!"  said  Cajetan,  smiling;  "it  comes  to  trust  in 
God  as  the  root  of  all  security." 

"  But,"  urged  the  Count,  "  your  mode  of  living  is  all  well 
erough  at  Venice,  a  large  and  opulent  city,  but  Naples  is  small 
ard  poor." 

"  The  God  of  Venice  is  the  God  also  of  Naples,"  an- 
swered Cajetan. 

Pope  Paul  III.,  who  succeeded  Clement  VII.,  having 
given  the  cardinal's  hat  to  the  Bishop  of  Theate,  Superior  of 
the  Regular  Clerks,  our  Saint  was  obliged  to  make  a  journey 
to  Rome.  As  the  three  years  of  his  superiorship  at  Naples 
were  over,  another  member  of  the  Society  was  chosen.  He 
was  a  man  of  modest  and  timid  nature,  and  he  shrunk  from 
the  duty  of  ruling  others.  Cajetan  said  to  him,  "  My  father, 
it  is  easy  to  govern  others,  if  you  make  them  love  you  in 
the  Lord." 

His  fervour  for  souls  was  so  remarkable,  that  in  Naples  he 
obtained  the  name  of  the  soul-hunter,  veriator  animanim. 

But  the  disorders  in  the  Church,  the  scandals  caused  by 
the  worldliness  and  ambition  of  the  prelates,  and  the  igno- 
rance and  relaxed  morals  of  the  lower  clergy,  were  to  Cajetan 
a  continual  sorrow.  One  day,  as  he  was  meditating  thereon, 
he  thought  he  saw  the  Saviour  bowed  beneath  his  cross,  his  face 
stained  with  tears  and  blood.  Christ  signed  to  him  to  approach, 
and  He  laid  the  edge  of  the  arm  of  the  cross  on  His  servant's 
shoulder.  The  weight,  the  pain,  bruised  him  to  the  heart. 
It  was  the  evil  in  the  Church  which  the  Saviour  bore,  and 


*- 


-* 


•J* _ _^ 

96  Lives  of  the  Saints.  (August  ji 

which  bowed  Him  down.  OnCajetan's  lipswasever  the  prayer 
of  Daniel,  "  O  Lord,  according  to  all  thy  righteousness,  I 
beseech  thee,  let  thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned  away 
from  thy  city  Jerusalem,  thy  holy  mountain  ;  because  for  our 
sins,  and  for  the  iniquities  of  our  fathers,  Jerusalem  and  thy 
people  are  become  a  reproach  to  all  that  are  about  us.  Now, 
therefore,  O  our  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  and  his 
supplication,  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy  sanc- 
tuary that  is  desolate,  for  the  Lord's  sake.  O  my  God,  in- 
cline thine  ear,  and  hear ;  open  thine  eyes,  and  behold  our 
desolations,  and  the  city  that  is  called  by  thy  name  ;  for  we 
do  not  present  our  supplications  before  thee  for  our  righte- 
ousness, but  for  thy  great  mercies.  O  Lord,  hear ;  O  Lord, 
forgive  ;  O  Lord,  hearken  and  do  ;  defer  not,  for  thine  own 
sake,  O  my  God ;  for  thy  city  and  thy  people  are  called  by 
thy  name."* 

And  the  condition  of  affairs  was  indeed  enough  to  sadden 
his  soul  to  death.  The  Emperor  Charles  V.  had  fought  the 
Protestant  princes  in  Germany,  his  object  was  to  completely 
break  their  strength  by  force  of  arms,  and  at  the  same  time, 
by  means  of  the  Council  of  Trent  to  effect  some  necessary 
reforms  in  the  Church,  which  might  render  submission  pos- 
sible on  the  part  of  the  Protestants.  The  success  of  his 
warlike  operations  exceeded  all  anticipation,  and  the  autumn 
of  1546  saw  North  Germany  entirely  at  his  mercy.  Cities 
and  princes  emulously  protfered  submission ;  the  moment 
seemed  to  have  come  when  the  Protestant  party  in  Germany 
being  entirely  subjugated,  the  whole  North  of  Europe  might 
have  again  become  Catholic. 

This  most  blessed  consummation  was  frustrated,  astound- 
ing as  it  seems,  by  the  action  of  the  Pope.  Paul  III.  had  the 
political  interests  of  Italy  at  heart  rather  than  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  and  of  the  Faith.     He  recalled  his  troops  from 

1  Dan.  ix.  16-19. 


^ 


the  imperial  army,  and  transferred  the  council  which  he  had 
disliked,  and  regarded  with  a  jealous  eye,  from  Trent  to 
Bologna,  where,  on  his  own  territory,  it  would  be  completely 
imder  his  dictation.  He  was  angry  at  the  success  of  the 
emperor.  He  had  hoped,  as  he  himself  admitted,  that  the 
emperor  would  have  fallen  into  difficulties  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  attempt  against  the  Protestant  princes.  He  did 
not  disguise  his  satisfaction  when  the  Lutheran  Elector, 
John  Francis  of  Saxony,  made  head  against  the  Imperialists. 
Once  more  it  seemed  probable  to  the  Pope  that  Charles 
would  fail  before  the  union  of  the  Protestants.  He  wrote  to 
Francis  I.  of  France,  urging  him  to  assist  them  against  the 
emperor,  "to  succour  those  who  were  still  holding  out 
against  the  emperor,  before  they  were  overborne."  But  his 
hopes  were  again  disappointed.  Charles  was  victorious  at 
Miihlberg,  and  carried  off  the  two  Protestant  leaders  prisoners. 
In  vain  did  the  emperor  urge  on  the  Pope  the  necessity 
for  the  Council  to  meet  at  Trent  and  continue  its  work 
of  reformation.  Paul  III.,  by  dividing  the  Council,  broke 
its  significance,  and  plucked  out  of  the  emperor's  power  the 
engine  he  had  designed  for  the  reduction  of  Protestantism 
in  Germany  to  submission  to  the  Catholic  faith. 

Cajetan  had  hoped  great  things  from  the  Council.  Its 
transfer  and  prorogation  filled  him  with  such  sadness,  that  he 
sickened  and  died  of  disappointment.  He  died  murmuring 
the  prayer  of  Daniel ;  his  last  words  were  "  Placare  Domine, 
attende,  et  fac." 

His  body  was  laid  in  the  church  of  S.  Paul,  at  Naples, 
where  it  remains  to  this  day. 


VOL.  IX.  7 


98  Lives  of  the  Samts.  [Augusta. 


August  8. 

S.  Myro,  B.C.  in  Crete  ;  circ.  a.d.  301. 

SS.  Cyriacus,  Largus,  Smaragdus,  MM.  at  Rome;  a.d.  303. 
S.  HoRMiSDAS,  M.  in  Persia  ;  ^th  cent. 
S.  Marinus,  M.  at  Anazarbits  in  Cilicia  ;  circ.  a.d.  304. 
S.  Severus,  P.C.  at  Vienne  in  Gaul;  ^th  cent. 
,   B.  Altmann,  B.  of  Passaji  in  Austria  ;  a.d.  1091. 

SS.  CYRIACUS,  LARGUS,  AND  SMARAGDUS,  MM. 

(a.d.  303.) 

[The  ancient  Roman  Kalendar,  published  by  Leo  Allatius,  commemorates 
on  this  day  Cyriacus  alone  ;  another  ancient  Roman  Kalendar  of  the  8th 
cent,  on  July  15  and  August  8  ;  and  on  March  16,  Cyriacus,  Largus,  and 
Smaragdus.  S.  Gregory  L  in  his  Sacramentary  commemorates  Cyriacus  on 
Aug.  8.  A  Roman  Kalendar  of  the  4th  cent.  (a.d.  354),  published  by 
Bucherius,  gives  on  the  same  day  Cyriacus,  Largus,  Crescentianus,  Memmia, 
Juliana,  and  Smaragdus.  Also  the  Martyrology  attributed  to  S.  Jerome.  All 
later  Latin  Martyrologies,  modern  Roman,  Saruni,  York,  &o.  Authorities  : — 
Mention  in  the  Martyrologies.  The  Acts  are  purely  fabulous,  and  undeserving 
of  attention  ;  they  are  contained  in  the  apocryphal  Acts  of  Pope  Marcellinus^ 
April  26.] 

YRIACUS,  a  deacon  of  Rome,  Smaragdus,  and 
Largus  were  martyred  under  Diocletian  by  the 
sword.  A  worthless  tradition  asserts  that  Cyriacus 
converted  and  baptized  Artemia,  daughter  of  Dio- 
cletian, that  he  was  sent  by  Diocletian  to  King  Sapor,  of 
Persia,  to  heal  his  daughter  Jobia,  possessed  with  a  devil, 
this  he  did,  and  also  baptized  Jobia,  Sapor,  and  four  hundred 
and  thirty  of  the  Persian  court.  The  execution  of  these 
martyrs  took  place  on  the  Salarian  Way,  at  the  Thermae  of 
Sallust.  Their  bodies  were  taken  up,  and  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  Lucina  on  the  Ostian  Way.  The  relics  are 
shown  in  the  church  of  S.  Maria,  in  Via  Lata,  at  Rome. 
The  veneration  for  these  martyrs  is  very  ancient.  Hono- 
rius  L  (625-638)  erected  a  church  in  their  honour. 


*- 


^ q< 


August  8.] 


6'.  Hormisdas.  99 


S.  HORMISDAS,  M. 

(4TH    CENT.) 

[Not  in  any  ancient  Martyrology.  Modern  Roman  Mar  typology 
Authority : — Theodoret,  lib.  v.  c.  39.] 

Abdas,  a  fiery  bishop  in  Persia,  "  led  by  his  unrestrained 
zeal,"  destroyed  a  fire  temple  in  the  city  of  which  he  was 
bishop.  Isdegerdes,  the  Persian  King,  hearing  of  this,  sent 
for  Abdas,  and,  in  a  kind  manner,  reproved  him,  and 
promised  to  pardon  the  act  of  violence,  if  he  would,  at  his 
own  cost,  re-erect  the  temple.  But  to  this  Abdas  would 
not  consent ;  to  re-build  the  temple  was  as  bad  as  offering 
sacrifice  to  fire.  He  acknowledged  his  indiscretion,  but  not 
gi-aciously.  "  The  destruction  was  mistimed,  that  I  admit. 
When  Paul  the  Apostle  came  to  Athens  he  did  not  set  to 
work  pulling  do^vn  the  temples.  He  instructed  the  people 
to  despise  their  idols,  and  then  the  temples  were  deserted, 
and  tumbled  down  of  their  own  accord." 

The  king  then  ordered  the  destruction  of  all  Christian 
churches,  and  a  persecution  broke  out  which  raged  for 
thirty  years.  On  the  death  of  Isdegerdes  it  did  not  cease, 
but  was  carried  on  with  redoubled  fury  by  his  son 
Gororanes. 

"  It  is  not  easy,"  says  Theodoret,  "  to  describe  the  various 
tortures  to  which  the  faithful  were  subjected  through  the 
ingenuity  of  their  persecutors.  Some  had  the  skin  torn  oft" 
the  face,  from  the  forehead  to  the  chin.  Others  had  reeds, 
which  had  been  split,  fastened  round  their  bodies,  and 
bound  tightly  from  head  to  foot ;  then  each  of  the  reeds  was 
plucked  out  with  great  force,  tearing  away  with  it  the  adja- 
cent skin,  causing  excruciating  agony.  The  persecutors  also 
dug  pits,  and  filled  them  with  rats  ;  they  then  threw  the  pious 
defenders  of  the  faith  into  these  pits,  so  bound  that  they 

7—2 


-^ 


*- 


lOO  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

could  not  drive  off  the  animals.  The  rats,  pressed  by 
hunger,  devoured  their  flesh,  thus  occasioning  them  exqui- 
site tortvire."  Hormisdas,  a  noble,  of  the  illustrious  race  of 
the  Achsemenides,  was  the  son  of  a  satrap.  When  the  king 
heard  that  he  was  a  Christian,  he  sent  for  him,  and  desired 
him  to  deny  his  Lord  and  Master.  "  Sire  !"  answered  Hor- 
misdas, "  to  deny  thee,  my  earthly  king,  would  be  a  crime 
worthy  of  death;  how  much  rather  to  deny  the  King  of 
Kings,  the  Creator  of  all  things  ?" 

The  king  deprived  him  of  his  rank  and  fortune,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  camel-driver  in  the  army. 

One  day,  as  the  king  was  looking  from  his  window,  he 
saw  Hormisdas,  naked,  burnt  by  the  sun,  and  covered 
with  dust,  goading  on  his  camels.  Remembering  his  illus- 
trious parentage,  and  pitying  him,  he  sent  for  him,  and  gave 
him  a  linen  tunic.  Then  he  urged  him  with  kindness  to 
change  his  purpose,  and  abandon  the  religion  which  entailed 
such  discomforts,  "  Abandon  the  carpenter's  son  !"  Hor- 
misdas plucked  off  the  white  tunic,  and  returned  it  to  the 
king.  "Not  for  the  sake  of  this  linen  dress,"  answered 
Hormisdas.  "  Take  back  your  gift.  Sire  !"  The  king,  per- 
ceiving his  fortitude,  banished  him  from  the  kingdom. 

Among  several  bishops  in  Persia  who  suffered  in  this 
persecution,  Sozomen  (ii.  13)  enumerates  Hormisdas. 
Whether  this  was  the  same  Hormisdas  as  the  confessor  men- 
tioned by  Theodoret,  does  not  appear.  According  to  the 
latter,  Hormisdas  does  not  seem  to  have  died  for  the  faith. 
Bishop  Hormisdas  suffered  martyrdom. 


■* 


^. 


August  8.] 


S.  Marinus.  loi 


&   MARINUS,   M. 

(about  a.d.  304,) 

[Greek  Menaea  and  modem  Roman  Martyrology.     Authority : — The 
ancient  Greek  Acts,  which  are  trastworthy.] 

Marinus,  a  very  old  man,  was  brought  before  Lysias,  the 
governor  of  Cilicia,  at  Anazarbus,  and  ordered  to  sacrifice. 
Marinus  steadfastly  refused.  "  I  respect  your  white  hairs," 
said  Lysias;  "but  I  must  enforce  obedience  to  the 
immortal  gods."     "  I  am  a  Christian,"  answered  Marinus. 

The  old  man  was  divested  of  his  cloak,  was  laid  on  the 
ground  and  beaten,  and  then,  laden  with  heavy  chains,  was 
taken  way  to  prison. 

Next  day  he  was  brought  again  before  the  governor,  who 
found  him  as  inflexible  as  before.  He  ordered  him  to  be 
hung  up  by  the  feet,  and  his  body  to  be  cut  with  swords. 
And  as  the  executioners  were  suspending  him,  Marinus 
prayed :  "  See,  O  Lord !  and  help,  and  give  patience  to  Thy 
athlete,  that,  free  from  blame,  I  may  finish  my  race." 

After  his  flesh  had  been  cruelly  hacked,  and  his  white 
hair  was  draggled  with  blood,  Lysias  ordered  him  away  to 
execution.  He  was  drawn  almost  unconscious  out  of  the 
town,  and  his  head  was  struck  off. 


•* ^ 


^ _ — — i^ 

I  o  2  Z  zTJes  of  the  Saints. 


[August  S 


B.  ALTMANN,  B.  OF  PASSAU. 

(a.d.  1091.) 

[Venerated  at  Passau  and  Gottwich,  his  festival  indulgenced  by  Bonifacs 
VIII.  and  Alexander  VI.  Inserted  in  modern  German  Martyrology  and 
the  Acta  Sanctorum.  Authorities  : — A  life  by  an  anonymous  monk  of 
Gottwich,  written  about  a.d.  1140.  Another  life  by  an  anonymous  writer  of 
uncertain  date,  mention  by  Lambert  of  Aschaffenburg,  Hermann  the 
Contracted,  and  other  historians  of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.] 

Altmann,  a  native  of  Paderborn  in  Westphalia,  was 
made  canon  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  chaplain  to  Henry  III 
In  1064  he  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  under  Gunther, 
Bishop  of  Bamberg,  the  archbishops  of  Mainz  and 
Cologne,  the  bishops  of  Spires  and  Utrecht.  The  caravan 
was  composed  of  seven  thousand  Christians.'  It  set  out 
from  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  crossed  Germany,  Hungary, 
Bulgaria,  and  Thrace,  and  was  welcomed  at  Constantinople 
by  the  Emperor  Constantine  Ducas.  After  having  visited 
the  churches  of  Byzantium,  and  the  numerous  relics  which 
were  objects  of  veneration  to  the  Greeks,  the  pilgrims  of 
the  West  traversed  Asia  Minor  and  Syria  without  danger  \ 
but  when  they  approached  Jerusalem,  the  sight  of  their 
riches  aroused  the  cupidity  of  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  undisci- 
plined hordes,  who  had  neither  country  nor  settled  abode, 
and  who  had  rendered  themselves  formidable  in  the  civil 
wars  of  the  East.  The  Arabs  attacked  the  pilgrims,  and 
compelled  them  to  sustain  a  siege  in  an  abandoned  village 
on  a  Good  Friday.  On  such  a  sacred  day,  the  pilgrims 
ev€n  who  had  arms  employed  them  with  hesitation  and 
scruple.     Enclosed  within  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle,  they 

'  The  account  of  their  pilgrimage  is  from  Ingulf,  a  Norman  monk,  who  accom- 
panied it.  See  also  the  Chronicle  of  Marianus  Scotus.  The  biographers  of  Altmann 
give  a  very  scanty  account,  with  next  to  no  details.  The  first  only  records  the  fate 
of  an  abbess  who  would  accompany  the  pilgrims  in  spite  of  the  dissuasion  of  her 
friends. 


-« 


^ * 

Augusts.]  B.Altmann.  103 

resisted  for  a  time,  but  on  the  third  day  famine  compelled 
them  to  capitulate.  When  they  came  to  the  arrangement  of 
the  conditions  of  peace,  there  arose  a  violent  quarrel,  which 
was  near  leading  to  the  massacre  of  the  Christians  by  the 
Arabs.  The  Emir  of  Ramala,  informed  by  some  fugitives, 
came  happily  to  the  rescue,  delivered  them  from  the  death 
with  which  they  were  threatened,  and  permitted  them  to 
continue  their  journey. 

As  the  report  of  their  combats  and  perils  had  preceded 
them,  their  arrival  created  a  great  sensation  in  Jerusalem. 
They  were  received  in  triumph  by  the  Patriarch,  and  con- 
ducted, to  the  sound  of  timbrels,  and  by  the  light  of  torches, 
to  the  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  During  their  abode 
at  Jerusalem,  the  misery  into  which  they  had  fallen  excited 
the  pity  of  the  Christians.  They  could  not  visit  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan,  nor  the  places  most  renowned  in  Judea,  as 
they  were  infested  by  the  Arabs.  After  having  lost  more 
than  three  thousand  of  their  companions,  they  returned  to 
Europe,  to  relate  their  tragical  adventures  and  the  danger 
of  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land. 

In  1065  died  Egilbert,  Bishop  of  Passau,  and  Agnes  the 
queen-mother  and  regent,  with  the  advice  of  some  of  the 
electors  and  nobles,  nominated  Altmann  to  the  vacant  see. 
He  was  consecrated  by  Gebhardt,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg. 
The  great  contest  against  the  marriage  of  the  clergy  which 
occupied  Hildebrand,  and  convulsed  Germany  and  all 
Europe  during  his  reign,  was  now  beginning.  Altmann 
threw  himself  enthusiastically  into  the  party  opposed  to 
clerical  marriage.  He  found  nearly  all  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese  openly,  unblushingly,  living  with  their  wives.  It  was 
the  same  throughout  Germany.' 

'  "  Pataviensis  ecclesia,  imino  totum  regnum  Teutonicum,  sacerdotum  vita  com- 
maculabatur,  qua  pene  omnes  publicis  conjugiis,  ut  populates,  ubicunque,  infames 
tenebantur."    Vit  L 


►i<- 


-* 


)J< ^ 

104  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

Bishop  Altmann,  on  the  reception  of  the  letters  of  Gregory 
VII.  forbidding  clerical  marriage,  assembled  the  clergy  and 
people  on  S.  Stephen's  Day,  1074,  in  the  cathedral  at 
Passau,  and  read  aloud  the  decree  of  the  Pope.*  The 
result  was  a  riot,  with  one  consent  (tmanimiter)  priests  and 
people  rose  in  indignation,  and  the  bishop  would  have  been 
torn  in  pieces  by  them,  had  he  not  been  able  by  the  aid  of 
his  servants  to  escape  to  a  place  of  security.  The  clergy  of 
Passau  appealed  to  the  emperor  against  their  bishop,  and 
Henry  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  troops  to  expel  Altmann 
from  the  diocese. 

The  only  clerks  who  adhered  to  Altmann  were  the 
Augustinian  canons  of  S.  Nicolas,  whom  Altmann  had 
introduced  into  Passau.  As  soon  as  the  emperor  was  gone 
these  zealous  brethren  provided  themselves  with  holy  water 
and  brooms,*  and  began  to  scour  out  all  the  places  he  had 
"  polluted  "  with  his  presence.  Thereupon  the  canons  were 
taken  by  the  magistrates,  publicly  beaten,  and  turned  out  of 
their  estabhshment. 

Altmann  took  refuge  with  Pope  Gregory,  and  attended  him 
for  some  years.  The  Council  of  Worms  assembled  in  1076, 
and  deposed  Pope  Gregory ;  Hermann,  Duke  of  Carinthia, 
was  appointed  bishop  in  the  room  of  Altmann,  and  on  his 
death  in  1087,  Thiemo,  Dean  of  Wurzburg,  was  advanced 
to  the  bishopric,  and  governed  the  western  portion  of  the 
diocese.  Altmann,  however,  maintained  himself  in  the 
eastern  portion,  fixing  his  residence  in  the  fortress  of 
Gottwich.  "  Before  the  days  of  Altmann,"  says  his  earliest 
biographer,  "  almost  all  the  churches  in  his  diocese  were  of 
wood ;  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  so  were  the  priests — if  I 
may  so  say — for  they  were  devoted  to  their  wives  and  worldly 

1  "  Fubllce  recitavit  Apostolics  epistolae  tenorem,  gravi  interminationis  authoritate 
interdicens  canonicis  et  presbyteris  conjugia."    Ibid. 

^  "  Fratres  de  S.  Nicolao  loca  poUuta,  scopis  eC  aqua  benedicta  emundaverunL" 
ViLi 


-* 


^- 


■^j 


August  8.J 


B.  Altmann. 


105 


goods."  But  now  Altmann  succeeded  in  rearing  churches 
of  stone,  and  providing  them  with  priests — not  of  wood 
— who  had  no  wives,  and  were  supposed  to  be  indifferent  to 
this  world's  goods. 

Altmann  died  on  August  8th,  1091,  and  was   buried  at 
Gottwich,  where  his  tomb  is  still  shown. 


The  B.V  M.  receivinl  the  announcement  of  her  approaching  dissolutioa. 
After  a  bas-relief  by  Orcagna. 


•J*- 


■* 


■ ^ 

1 06  Lives  0/ the  Saints. 


[August  9. 


August  9. 

SS.  Secundianus,  Marcellianus,  and  Verianus,  mm.  in  Tut- 
cany  ;  circ.  a.d.  261. 

S.  RoMANUs,  M.  at  Rome;  a.d.  258. 

S.  NuMiDlcus,  il/.  in  Africa;  -^rd cent. 

SS.  FiRMUS  AND  RusTicus,  MM.  at  Verona;  circ.  a.d.  304. 

S.  Fedlimid,  B.  at  Kihnore  in  Ireland;  circ.  a.d.  550. 

S.  Nathy,  p.  at  Achonry  tn  Ireland;  circ.  A.D.  605. 

SS.  Gregory,  Julian,  Mary,  and  Others,  MM.  at  Constanti- 
nople;  A.D.  730. 

S.  ROMANUS,  M. 
(a.d.  258.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  ancient  and  modern.     Ado,  Usuardus,  Hrabanus, 
Notker,  &c.     Authority  :— The  Acts  of  S.  Laurence.] 

"OMANUS  was  a  soldier  who  was  converted  by 
observing  the  constancy  of  S.  Laurence.  He 
sought  him  in  prison,  was  instructed  and  baptized 
by  him,  and  then,  confessing  what  he  had  done, 
was  arraigned  and  beheaded,  the  day  before  the  martyrdom 
of  S.  Laurence.     His  reUcs  are  shown  at  Lucca. 


S.  FEDLIMID,  B. 

(about  a.d.  550.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.] 

Fedlimid  was  a  bishop  Hving  at  Kilmore  in  the  6th  cen- 
tury. He  is  said  to  have  been  the  brother  of  S.  Dermot, 
Abbot  of  Eniscloghran.  Kilmore  was  not  erected  into  a 
bishopric  till  much  later. 


*- 


-^ 


*  4- 


August  9.] 


6'6'.  Nathy  a?id  Gregory. 


107 


-* 


S.  NATHY,  P. 
(about  a.d.  605.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.] 

Nathy  the  Priest  (Cruimthir)  was  placed  at  Achonry  by 
S.  Finnian  of  Clonard,  probably  just  before  that  saint's 
death,  which  took  place  in  552.  Nathy's  school  became 
highly  distinguished,  especially  in  that  it  was  there  that  S. 
Fechin  of  Fore  obtained  his  ecclesiastical  and  literary 
education.     He  died  at  an  advanced  age,  probably  in  605. 


SS.  GREGORY,  JULIAN,  MARY,  AND 

OTHERS,  MM. 

(A.D.  730.) 

[Greek  Menasa  and  Roman  Martyrology.  Authority  : — The  Greek  Acts 
writfen  after  870,  and  incorrect  as  to  several  historical  particulars,  though  in 
the  main  trustworthy.  With  them  agree  various  notices,  as  the  contempo- 
rary epistle  of  Gregory  II.  to  Leo  the  Isaurian,  in  which  the  facts  without 
the  names  are  narrated  briefly.] 

Leo  the  Isaurian,  Emperor  of  the  East,  as  has  been 
related  in  another  place,  was  resolved  to  put  down  the  use 
of  pictures  and  images  in  churches  and  elsewhere.  There 
was  a  statue  of  Christ  above  one  of  the  gates  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  he  ordered  its  destruction.  When  the  ladder 
was  placed  against  the  gate  for  the  purpose,  some  of  the 
most  zealous  Christians  of  Constantinople  rushed  to  the 
spot.  Mary,  a  woman  of  the  imperial  family,  Gregory,  head 
of  the  body-guard,^  and  others,  shook  the  ladder, 
precipitated  the  image-breaker  to  the  ground,  and  tore  the 
unfortunate  man  to  pieces,  limb  from  limb. 

The  emperor  could  not  overlook  this  barbarous  murder, 
worthy  of  savages,  and  not  to  be  justified  even  by  the 
orthodoxy  of  their  zeal ;  and  all  implicated  in  it  were  arrested, 

>  "  Protospatharius." 


*- 


^ ^ 

1 08  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August ». 

ten  men,  two  youths,  and  Mary  who  had  led  them  on.  In 
the  disturbance,  Theodosia,  a  nun,  was  cruelly,  but  perhaps 
accidentally,  injiured.^ 

Several  of  those  guilty  of  the  barbarous  act  were  put  to 
death  the  same  day,  but  Mary,  on  account  of  her  rank,  was 
ordered  to  prison.  She  broke  out  in  a  furious  invective 
against  the  emperor.  "Dost  thou  call  me  an  idolater 
because  I  venerate  the  image  of  Christ?  Thy  image  is 
impressed  in  wax  on  thy  decrees  and  briefs,  and  the  seal 
is  honovured.  Do  those  who  respect  the  seal,  for  a  moment 
regard  it  as  their  emperor  ?  Thou  art  more  stolid  than  any 
image,  and  more  inanimate  than  dull  clay — miserable 
wretch,  full  of  the  machinations  of  the  devil,  precursor  of 
Antichrist,  foe  to  all  justice  !"" 

Leo,  eiu-aged,  ordered  her  and  the  rest  to  be  beaten  and 
thrown  into  prison.  After  eight  months  they  were  brought 
before  him  again. 

"Why,"  said  he,  "will ye  persist  in  your  idolatry,  and  in 
your  worship  of  old  bones  ?" 

"Accursed  and  detestable  one,"  answered  Mary,  "do 
you  still  blaspheme,  and  labour  at  the  devil's  work  ?  " 

He  ordered  them  to  be  again  beaten,  and  then  that  their 
heads  should  be  struck  off. 

We  are  informed  that  miracles  were  wrought  by  their 
relics.  All  those  who  suffered  for  the  atrocious  murder 
of  the  image-breaker  are  commemorated  together  this  day 
as  saints  and  martyrs  in  the  East  and  West.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  Baronius  should  have  introduced  them  into 
the  Roman  Martyrology. 

'  S.  Theodosia,  May  29. 
»  It  is  most  probable  that  the  speeches  of  the  martyrs  are  rhetorical  inventions  of 
the  author  of  tho  Acts,  who   wrote  more  than  a  century  later. 


-* 


^ .. Ij, 

S.  Later ence.  109 


August  za] 


August  10. 

S.  Laurence,  D.M.  at  Rome ;  a.d.  258. 

S.  AsTERiA,  V.M.  at  Bergamo  in  Italy;  circ.  A.D.  304, 

S.  Philomena,  V.M.  at  Rome. 

S.  AucTOR,  B.  o/Metz  ;  6tk  cent. 

S.  Blane,  B.  o/Bute  ;  end  o/6th  cent. 

S.  Arigius,  Abp.  0/ Lyons ;  circ.  a.d.  615. 

S.  Malchus,  B.  of  Lismore  in  Ireland;  circ.  A.D.  113* 

S.  Hugh,  A  o/Auxerre  ;  a.d.  1141. 

S.  LAURENCE,  D.M. 
(a.d.  258.) 

[All  the  ancient  Latin  and  Roman  Martyrologies.  By  the  Greeks  also. 
Russian  Kalendar,  Anglican  Reformed  Kalendar,  &c.  Authorities  : — A 
hymn  of  Prudentius,  mention  by  S.  Augustine,  Tract  27  in  loannem  ;  S. 
Maximus  of  Turin,  S.  Ambrose,  S.  Peter  Chrysologus,  S.  Leo.  The  Acts 
probably  did  not  exist  in  the  5th  cent.,  as  the  Fathers  who  speak  of  the  mar- 
tjrrdom  of  S.  Laurence  make  no  reference  to  them,  but  rather  imply  that  they 
rehed  on  oral  tradition.] 

[  N  the  persecution  of  Valerian,  S.  Sixtus  or  Xystus, 

Pope  of  Rome,    was  arrested.     Laurence,  his 

archdeacon,  as  the  aged  pontiff  was  being  led  to 

martyrdom,  cried  after  him,    "Why  dost  thou 

leave  me,    O   holy  father?     Should  the  priest  go   to   the 

sacrifice  without  his  attendant  deacon  ?"     Sixtus  turned  to 

him  and  said,  "  My  son,  after  three  days  thou  shalt  follow 

me." 

It  was  ascertained  that  Laurence  was  the  keeper  of  the 
treasure  of  the  Church,  and  he  was  arrested,  and  ordered  to 
produce  it.  He  asked  a  day  in  which  to  collect  it.  All 
night  he  hurried  about  Rome,  in  and  out  of  its  poorest 
streets  and  courts.      On  the  morrow  he  appeared  before  the 

^— ^ 


no  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  la 


court,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  the  poor,  the  halt,  and  the 
blind.    "  These,"  said  he,  "  are  the  treasures  of  the  Church." 

He  was  ordered  to  death  by  cruel  torture.  He  was  to  be 
broiled  on  a  gridiron  over  a  slow  fire. 

The  fire  was  made  ready,  he  was  stripped,  and  laid  on  the 
iron  bars.  And  all  who  looked  on  him  saw  his  face,  as  it 
were  the  face  of  an  angel.  Not  a  murmur  escaped  his  lips, 
but  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  deep  blue  sky,  and  a  light 
blush  suffused  his  cheeks.  The  sun  shone  on  his  countenance, 
and  glorified  it.  He  seemed  insensible  to  the  torture. 
*'  Turn  me,"  said  he,  with  a  playful  smile  to  his  tormentors ; 
"  I  am  roasted  on  one  side." 

And  thus  he  died,  without  a  cry  of  pain,  or  a  moan,  or  an 
expression  of  anguish  on  his  serene  brow. 

"Who  is  ignorant  of  the  merits  of  this  martyr?"  asked  S. 
Augustine.  "  Who  has  prayed  thus  " — at  the  tomb  of  the 
martyr — "  and  has  not  had  his  petition  answered  ?  To  how 
many  sick  have  not  his  merits  given  those  temporal  benefits 
which  he  himself  despised  ?" 

The  body  of  S.  Laurence  was  laid  by  a  Christian  named 
Hippolytus,  and  the  priest  Justin,  in  a  sand-pit  on  the 
Tiburtine  Way,  in  the  farm  of  a  widow  named  Cyriaca. 

On  the  innumerable  relics  shown  as  those  of  S.  Laurence 
at  Rome^  it  is  unnecessary  to  dilate.  In  the  Escurial  is  a 
pot  full  of  his  melted  fat  given  by  Pope  Gregory  XHI.  S. 
Laurence  is  always  represented  as  a  young  man,  in  the  vest- 
ments of  a  deacon.  His  emblems  are  a  clasped  book  and 
a  gridiron. 

'  The  gridiron  in  the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Lucina,  a  shoulder-blade  in  the 
chapel  of  S.  Laurence  in  the  Lateran,  an  arm  at  S.  Marco,  a  jaw  at  S.  Marcella,  two 
ribs  in  S.  Croce  in  Hierusalem,  some  of  his  melted  fat  at  S.  Maria  in  Catnpitelli,  a 
rib  in  the  church  of  the  Apostles,  another  in  S.  Praxede,  part  of  the  gridiron  at  S. 
Maria  in  Cosmedin,  of  his  dalmatic  at  S.  Barbara,  some  more  of  his  fat,  a  backbone 
joint  and  a  tooth  in  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  a  bone  at  S.  Csecilia,  a  finger  at  S.  Susanna, 
&c.  &c 


-* 


S.   LAURENCE. 


Aug.,  p.  no.] 


[Aug.  lo. 


August  10.] 


iS*.  Philomena. 


Ill 


-* 


S.  PHILOMENA,  V.M. 
(date  unknown.) 

[Authority  : — The  account  in  the  "Vies  des  Saints"  of  the  P6res  Guerin 

et  Giry.] 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1802,  in  the  Catacomb  of  S.  Priscilla 
on  the  Salarian  Way,  during  the  excavations,  was  found  a 
sepulchral  slab,  let  into  the  wall,  bearing  an  inscription,  of 
which  the  first  and  last  few  letters  had  been  effaced,  pro- 
bably by  the  tools  of  the  masons  who  inserted  it.  The 
inscription  was  as  follows,  with  the  conjectural  restorations 
in  brackets  : — 

[^Ft]  lumena  pax  Tecum  fi  \ai\. 

"  Philomena,  peace  be  with  thee  !  So  be  it."  On  the 
removal  of  the  stone,  in  the  cavity  behind,  were  found  the 
remains  of  an  interment,  and  a  glass  vessel,  partly  broken, 
encrusted  within  with  blood.  On  the  stone  slab,  in  addition 
to  the  inscription,  were  the  symbols  of  an  anchor,  an  arrow, 
a  palm,  a  scourge,  and  again  two  arrows  and  a  lily.  These 
symbols  pointed  unmistakably  to  the  occupant  of  the  tomb 
having  been  a  virgin  martyr,  who  suffered  scourging,  and 
received  the  palm  of  martyrdom  by  means  of  an  arrow. 

Some  excitable  and  imaginative  persons  have  deemed 
themselves  favoured  with  visions  of  Philomena,  who  has 
narrated  to  them  her  story.  In  one  of  these  visions  she 
informed  a  canoness  that  her  name,  Philomena,  was  derived 
from  the  Latin,  and  signified  "  daughter  of  light "  (Filia 
luminis),  a  statement  which  gives  the  measure  to  die  rest  of 
the  revelations.* 

'  Philomena  is  Greek,  and  signifies  "beloved." 


-* 


^ __,J^ 

112  Lives  of  the  Saints.  (August  lo. 


S.  BLANE,  B.  OF  BUTE. 
(end  of  6th  cent.) 

[Scottish  and  Irish  Martyrologies.     Authority : — The    Lessons  in  the 
Aberdeen  Breviary.] 

S.  Blaan,  or  Blane,  of  Bute,  was  the  son  of  Ertha,  sister  of 
S.  Cathan.  He  was,  during  seven  years  in  Ireland,  instructed 
by  S.  Comgall  and  S.  Kenneth.  He  returned  with  his  mother, 
in  a  boat  Avithout  oars,  to  the  island  of  his  nativity,  where  he 
was  heartily  received  by  S.  Cathan,  and  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God.  His  light  having  gone  out  one  night,  he  is  said 
to  have  struck  fire  out  of  his  finger-ends,  as  when  flint  is  struck 
with  steel.  He  was  raised  to  the  episcopate,  and  then  went 
to  Rome,  and  after  receiving  the  Pope's  blessing,  returned 
on  foot  through  Anglia.  In  a  northern  city  he  performed  an 
extraordinary  miracle  on  a  wicked  boy,  blind  of  one  eye, 
who  was  just  dead.  He  raised  him  to  life,  then  restored 
sight  to  his  blind  eye,  and  finally  cleansed  him  of  his  sins. 


S.  MALCHUS,  B.  OF  LISMORE. 

(about  a.d.  1 130.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.     Authority  :— The  Life  of  S.  Malachy  by  S.  Ber- 
nard.] 

S.  Malchus,  an  Irishman,  was  a  monk  of  Winchester, 

whence  he  was  taken  to  be  raised  to  the  see  of  Lismore. 

He   was,  probably,  the  immediate  successor   of  Macmic- 

Aeducan,  who  died  in  1 1 13.    S.  Malachy  became  his  disciple, 

in  or  about  11 23,  and    spent  some  years  vnth  hmi.     S. 

Malchus  died  about  a.d.  1130. 


*- 


August    IT.] 


KyiS*.  Tiburtius  mid  Chromatius.        1 1 3 


-* 


August  11. 


SS.  Tiburtius,  M.,  and  Chromatius,  C.  at  Rome  and  ir.  Cam- 
pania; A.D.  286. 
S.  Susanna,  V.M.  at  Rome ;  circ.  a.d.  295. 
S.  Taurinus,  B.  of  Evreux  in  Normandy;  circ.  %thcent. 
S.  RusTicULA,  V.  Abss.  at  Aries ;  a.d.  632. 
S.  Gaugeric,  B.  ofCantbrai;  circ.  a.d.  619. 

SS.  TIBURTIUS,  M.,  AND  CHROMATIUS,  C. 

(a.d.  286.) 

[Ancient  Roman  and  almost  all  Latin  Martyrologies.  S.  Tiburtius  by 
the  Greeks  on  Dec.  18.  Authority :— The  Acts  of  S.  Sebastian,  in  the 
main  trustworthy,  though  not  in  their  original  form.] 

GRESTIUS  CHROMATIUS  was  either  prsefect 
of  Rome'  or  vice-prsefect.  S.  Tranquillinus, 
when  brought  before  him,  assured  him  that, 
having  been  troubled  with  the  gout,  he  had 
recovered  his  health  on  being  baptized.  This  is  by  no 
means  improbable,  for  the  profession  of  Christianity  pro- 
bably induced  Tranquillinus  to  lead  a  temperate  and  frugal 
life,  and  the  gout,  brought  on  by  immoderate  use  of  the 
bottle  in  his  old  pagan,  jovial  days,  disappeared  when  he 
adopted  the  austere  habits  of  a  Christian.  Chromatius,  who 
was  also  tormented  with  the  gout,  caught  at  the  suggestion. 
"  If  thou  desirest  to  be  delivered  from  the  anguish  of  gout," 
said  Tranquillinus,  "  believe  in  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and 
thou  shalt  be  freed  from  it  this  day,  as  I  am."  Chromatius 
sought  the  priest,  Polycarp,  to  be  instructed  in  the  faith. 

'  He  is  called  prsefect  in  the  Acts,  but  his  name  does  not  occur  in  the  catalogue  of 
praefects. 

VOL.  IX.  8 


»ff- 


1 14  Lives  of  the  Samts.  [August  h. 

"Sir,"  said  the  vice-prgefect,  "I  have  seen  Tranquillinus 
relieved  from  gout  in  his  hands  and  feet,  which  before  were 
swelled  and  painful ;  and  when  I  asked  him  what  medicine 
he  had  used  to  cure  him,  he  exhorted  me  to  baptism." 

After  three  days'  preparation,  Chromatins  and  his  son 
Tiburtius  were  baptized.  The  vice-prsefect  then  went  to  his 
villa,  and  broke  all  his  idols.  Under  the  new  regimen 
imposed  by  his  faith,  the  twinges  of  gout  ceased  to  make 
themselves  felt.  His  baptism  had  been  preceded  by  severe 
fasting. 

Torquatus,  an  apostate,  betrayed  Tiburtius.  The  praefect 
Fabian  sentenced  him  to  death,  and  he  was  executed  on 
the  Via  Lavicana,  at  the  third  milestone  from  Rome. 

Chromatins  lived  quietly  in  his  villa  in  Campania  in  the 
practice  of  Christian  virtues  till  his  death.' 

The  body  of  S.  Tiburtius  is  shown  in  the  basihca  of 
S.  Peter  at  Rome.  Another  body  at  Autun,  given  in  862  by 
Pope  Nicolas  I. ;  perhaps  this  may  be  the  body  of  another 
martyr  of  the  same  name. 


S.  SUSANNA,  V.]\I. 
(about  a.d.  295.) 

[Ancient  and  Modem  Roman  Martyrologies.  Ado,  Usuardus,  &c. 
Authorities  : — Mention  in  the  Martyrologies.  The  Acts  are  altogether 
apocryphal.] 

S.  Susanna  is  said  to  have  been  niece  to  Pope  S.  Caius. 
She  obtained  the  palm  of  martyrdom  in  the  persecution  of 
Diocletian.     Her  head  was  struck  off  with  a  sword. 

I  A  lifelike  picture  of  the  times,  and  portraiture  of  Chromatius,  Tiburtius,  and  the 
renegade  Torquatus  is  to  be  found  in  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Fabiola. 


^ — ^ 


*■ 


August    12.] 


.S'6'.  Anicctus  and  PJwtius. 


115 


-* 


Angnst  12. 


SS.   HlLARIA  AND  ThREE  SERVANTS,  MM.  at  Augshur^^   A.D. 

304  {see  S.  Afra,  Aug.  5). 
SS.   Anicbtus    and    Photius,    MM.   at   Nicovtedia ;     circ. 

A.D.  305. 
S.  EuPLius,  D.M.  at  Catania,  in  Sicily;  K.Ti.  304. 
SS.    Gr  ATI  LAN,  M.   AND    Felicissima,     KM.    at    Falere  in 

Tuscany. 
S.  Mured ACH,  B.  0/ Killala  in  Ireland;  circ.  a.d.  580. 
SS.   PoRCARius,  Ab.  and  Five  Hundred  Monks,  MM.  at 

Lerins  ;  A.D.  736. 
S.  Clara,  V.  at  Assisi,  in  Umbria;  a.d.  1253. 

SS.  ANICETUS  AND  PHOTIUS,  M.M. 

(about   A.D.    305,) 

[Greek  Menoea  and  Menology,  Arabic  and  Russian  Kalendars.  Modern 
Roman  Martyrology.  In  introducing  the  names  into  the  latter  a  slight 
inaccuracy  crept  in  :  Photius  was  called  Photinus.  Authority  : — The  Greek 
Acts,  amplified  or  rewritten.] 

HOTIUS  and  Anicetus  were  two  Christians  of 
Nicomedia;  Photius  was  the  nephew  of  Anice- 
tus. In  303,  when  Diocletian  was  at  Nicomedia, 
he  issued  his  proclamations  against  the  Christians. 
In  a  loud  voice  Anicetus  declared  that  he  despised  the 
threats  of  the  emperor,  and  that  nothing  would  make  him 
abandon  Christ. 

Anicetus  was  at  once  arrested,  and  ordered  to  be  thrown 
to  a  lion  in  the  amphitheatre.  But  the  savage  beast,  instead 
of  devouring  him,  crept  up  to  him,  and  licked  his  face.  At 
this  moment  the  young  Photius,  leaping  over  tlie  barriers, 
ran  across  the  arena,  and  kissed  his  uncle.  The  emperor 
ordered  both  to  prison,  and  they  remained  incarcerated  for 

8—2 


-* 


►J( ■ ^ 

1 16  Lives  of  the  Saints.  (August  xa. 

three  years,  forgotten.  In  305  Diocletian  abdicated  the 
purple,  and  retired  into  Dalmatia.  Either  just  before  he  left 
Nicomedia,  or  after,  under  a  governor  especially  bigoted 
against  the  Christians,  Anicetus  and  Photius  were  drawn  out 
of  prison,  and  thrown  into  the  furnace  heating  the  public 
baths  of  Nicomedia. 


S.  EUPLIUS,  D.M. 
(a.d.  304.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.     By  the  Greeks  on  Aug.  11.     The  Acts  exist  in 
their  original  form,  and  are  thoroughly  trustworthy.] 

In  Sicily,  in  the  year  304,  under  the  ninth  consulate  of 
Diocletian  and  the  eighth  of  Maximian,  on  the  12th  of 
August,  in  the  city  of  Catana,  Euplius,  a  deacon,  was  brought 
to  the  governor's  audience-chamber,  and  attending  on  the 
outside  of  the  curtain,  cried  out,  "  I  am  a  Christian,  and 
shall  rejoice  to  die  for  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ."  The 
governor,  Calvisianus,  who  was  of  consular  dignity,  heard 
him,  and  ordered  that  he  who  had  made  that  outcry  should 
be  brought  in  and  presented  before  him.  Euplius  went  in 
with  the  book  of  the  Gospel  in  his  hand.  One  of  Calvisi- 
anus's  friends,  named  Maximus,  said,  "You  ought  not  to 
keep  such  writings,  contrary  to  the  edicts  of  the  emperors." 
Calvisianus  said  to  Euphus,  "  Where  had  you  those  writings? 
did  you  bring  them  from  your  own  house  ?"  Euplius  replied, 
*'  That  he  had  no  house,  but  that  he  was  seized  with  the 
book  about  him."  The  judge  bid  him  read  something  in  it. 
The  martyr  opened  it,  and  read  the  following  verses, 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake ; 
for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."* 

1  Mktt.  T.  10. 


-* 


*- 


-* 


August  la.] 


5".  Euplius, 


117 


And  again,  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me."* 

The  judge  asked  what  that  meant.  The  martyr  answered, 
"  It  is  the  law  of  my  Lord,  which  hath  been  delivered  to 
me."  Calvisianus  said,  "  By  whom  ?"  Euplius  answered, 
"  By  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Calvisianus 
then  pronounced,  "  Since  his  confession  makes  his  disobe- 
dience manifest,  let  him  be  delivered  up  to  the  executioners, 
and  examined  on  the  rack."  This  was  immediately  done. 
Whilst  they  were  tormenting  him,  Calvisianus  asked  him 
whether  he  persisted  in  his  former  declaration.  Euplius, 
making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  forehead  with  the  hand 
that  he  had  at  liberty,  said,  "  What  I  formerly  said  I  now 
declare  again,  that  I  am  a  Christian,  and  read  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures." Calvisianus  ordered  him  to  be  hoisted  on  the  rack, 
and  more  cruelly  tormented.  The  martyr  said,  whilst  under- 
going torture,  "  I  thank  thee,  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  I 
suffer  for  thy  sake  :  save  me,  I  beseech  thee."  Calvisianus 
said,  "  Lay  aside  thy  folly ;  adore  our  gods,  and  thou  shalt 
be  set  at  Hberty."  Euplius  answered,  "  I  adore  Jesus  Christ; 
I  detest  the  devils.  Do  what  you  please ;  add  new  tor- 
ments ;  for  I  am  a  Christian.  I  have  long  desired  to  be  in 
the  condition  in  which  I  now  am." 

After  the  executioners  had  tormented  him  a  long  time, 
Calvisianus  bade  them  desist,  and  said  :  "  Wretch,  adore  the 
gods ;  worship  Mars,  Apollo,  and  ^sculapius."  Euplius 
replied,  "  I  adore  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  I 
worship  the  Holy  Trinity,  beside  whom  there  is  no  God." 
Calvisianus  said,  "Sacrifice,  if  you  would  be  delivered." 
Euplius  answered,  "  I  sacrifice  myself  now  to  Jesus  Christ 
my  God.  All  your  efforts  to  move  me  are  to  no  purpose. 
I  am  a  Christian."  Then  Calvisianus  gave  orders  for  in- 
creasing his  torments. 

'  Matt.  zvL  14 


ii8  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  n. 


Whilst  the  executioners  were  exerting  their  utmost  in  tor- 
turing him,  Euplius  prayed  thus  :  "  I  thank  thee,  my  God ; 
Jesus  Christ,  succour  me.  It  is  for  thy  name's  sake  that  I 
endure  these  agonies."  This  he  repeated  several  times. 
When  his  strength  failed  him,  his  lips  were  seen  still  to  move, 
the  martyr  continuing  to  pray  inaudibly  when  he  could  not 
speak. 

Then  Calvisianus  went  behind  the  curtain  and  dictated 
the  sentence  of  death.  Coming  out  with  the  tablet  in  his 
hand,  he  read,  "  Euplius,  a  Christian,  despising  the  edicts  of 
the  emperors,  blaspheming  the  gods,  and  not  repenting,  is 
condemned  to  death  by  the  sword.     Lead  him  away." 

Then  the  Gospel  was  hung  about  his  neck,  and  the  herald 
went  before  him,  as  he  was  conducted  to  execution,  crying, 
"  Euplius,  a  Christian,  the  foe  of  the  gods  and  of  the  em- 
perors." 

But  Euplius,  full  of  joy,  cried  incessantly,  "Thanks  be  to 
Christ,  my  God."  And  when  he  was  come  to  the  place  he 
again  gave  thanks,  and  submitted  his  throat  to  the  execu- 
tioner, and  was  decapitated.  Then  the  Christians  took  up 
his  body,  and  embalmed  it  with  spices,  and  buried  it 


S.  MUREDACH,  B.  OF  KILLALA. 

(about   A.D.    580.) 
[Irish  Martyrologies.] 

S.  MuREDACH,  who  is  usually  called  the  first  Bishop  of 
Killala,  is  erroneously  said  to  have  been  appointed  to  that 
see  by  S.  Patrick.  He  was  contemporary  with  S.  Columba, 
and  is  mentioned  as  one  of  those  who  assembled  at  Bally- 


-* 


'^- 


August  la.] 


S.  Forearms  and  Comp. 


119 


-* 


sadare  in  Sligo,  to  pay  him  their  respects  after  the  meeting 
of  Drumkeith.  He  was  of  the  royal  race  of  Leogaire,  sixth 
in  descent  from  that  prince. 


SS.  PORCARIUS  AND  COMP.  MKS.  MM. 
(a.d.  730.) 

[Gallican  and  Modern  Roman  Martyrologies.     Authority  : — An  Account 
of  the  Martyrdom  by  an  anonymous  writer  of  uncertain  date.] 

In  the  8th  cent.  Provence  was  exposed  to  numerous  in- 
cursions of  the  Saracens.  The  island  of  Lerins  was  the 
monastic  metropolis  of  the  South  of  France — it  was  to  Pro- 
vence what  lona  was  to  Scotland,  and  Lindisfarne  to  Nor- 
thumbria.  In  one  of  these  irruptions  of  the  Saracens,  pro- 
bably in  730,  the  island  of  Lerins  was  invaded  by  the 
unbeUevers.  Porcarius  the  Abbot  was  well  aware  of  the 
danger,  he  foresaw  death  when  he  caught  sight  of  the  white 
sails  of  the  fleet  on  the  dark  blue  horizon.  He  called  to- 
gether his  monks — they  are  said  to  have  numbered  five 
hundred,  but  this  is  perhaps  an  exaggeration — and  bade 
them  prepare  for  the  worst.  The  Saracens  landed  and 
butchered  the  whole  saintly  band.  And  when,  after  this, 
the  fishermen  of  the  coast  saw  the  sea-mews  fluttering  and 
screaming  over  the  deserted  island,  they  thought  it  was  be- 
cause the  wild  birds  mourned  the  loss  of  the  monks,  who  had 
lived  amongst  them  without  harassing  them. 


*- 


-* 


»±<- 


120  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August   12. 


S.  CLARA,  V. 

(a.d.  1253.) 

[Canonized  by  Alexander  IV.  in  1255.  Authority : — Her  life,  written 
shortly  after  her  death  by  order  of  Alexander  IV.,  and  other  notices  in 
Wadding's  Annals  of  the  Minorites,  and  in  the  Acta  Sanctoiiim.] 

The  illustrious  Clara,  who  shines  in  the  constellations  of 
the  saints  beside  S.  Francis  of  Assisi  as  does  S.  Scholastica 
beside  S.  Benedict,  S.  Paula  beside  S.  Jerome,  andS.  Jeanne 
Chantal  beside  S.  Francis  de  Sales,  was  born  in  11 94  at 
Assisi,  of  noble  parents,  Favorino  Sceffi  and  Hortulana  de 
Fiumi.  To  this  day  the  crumbling  walls  of  their  castle  of 
Sasso- Rosso  on  the  southern  slope  of  Monte  Subasio  may 
be  seen  by  the  curious  traveller  bent  on  exploring  the  quaint 
old  town  and  its  scarcely  less  interesting  environs.  The 
family  of  Fiumi  still  survives  in  Assisi,  and  the  arms  of  the 
Sceffi  and  the  Fiumi  may  be  seen  decorating  the  ancient 
doorways  of  houses  in  Assisi,  once  noble  mansions,  now  the 
residence  of  poor  contadini. 

Clara  had  two  sisters,  Agnes  and  Beatrice,  to  whom  she 
was  tenderly  attached,  and  who  eventually  followed  her  to 
the  convent. 

The  wonderful  influence  of  the  great  Francis,  his  voice, 
his  example,  his  enthusiasm,  thrilled  the  heart  of  the  young 
girl,  and  filled  her  with  that  vehemence  of  love,  that 
passion  of  devotion,  which  nothing  could  quench  in  after 
years.  She  sought  an  interview  with  the  patriarch  of  the 
Mendicants  in  his  little  convent  of  the  Portiuncula,  poured 
put  into  his  ear  her  desires,  and  received  from  him  a 
cheering  assurance  that  he  would  accept  the  sacrifice  of 
her  life. 

She  was  eighteen :  modest,  retiring,  hating  the  world  and 
the  dissipation  of  society ;  delighting  in  the  privacy  of  her 
little  room  and  the  company  of  her  sisters, 

* a* 


S.   CLARA.      After  Cahier. 


Aug.,   p.    I20.] 


[Aug.  12. 


t!^- 


-* 


August  i&l 


S.  Clara. 


121 


On  Palm  Sunday,  A.D.  1212,  she  was  in  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Assisi  with  her  parents.  After  the  palms  had 
been  blessed,  the  congregation  filed  past  the  altar,  where 
the  bishop  distributed  the  palms.  The  girl  Clara  shrank 
from  pressing  forward  with  the  rest  to  the  sanctuary,  and 
remained  in  her  place.  The  bishop's  eye  rested  on  her ;  she 
was  without  a  palm,  standing  back  in  bashfulness.  Sud- 
denly he  stepped  down  into  the  nave,  the  acolytes  bearing 
their  tapers  before  him,  wondering  at  his  movements,  and 
uncertain  whither  they  were  directed.  Bearing  a  palm 
branch  he  advanced  to  Clara,  and  placed  the  bough  in  her 
hands.  To  her  it  was  as  a  consecration.  In  the  evening 
she  hasted  to  the  Portiuncula.  She  was  in  her  rich  dress, 
beseeming  her  rank,  adorned  with  necklace  and  brooches. 
She  entered  the  convent  chapel.  Francis  and  his  grey- 
habited  brethren,  barefoot,  holding  lighted  tapers,  stood  in 
the  choir  in  ranks.  She  fell  on  her  knees  and  implored 
them  to  receive  her.  In  a  paroxysm  of  devotion  she  tore 
off  her  jewels,  divested  herself  of  her  silk  brocade  and 
velvets,  and  bowed  her  head  to  the  shears  to  have  her  long 
dark  hair  cut  off.  A  coarse  grey  habit  was  hastily  flung  over 
her,  and  trembling  with  joy  and  surprise,  she  found  herself 
enrolled  in  the  ranks  of  the  champions  of  Poverty. 

It  was  impossible  for  S.  Francis  to  lodge  his  ardent  novice 
within  the  walls  of  the  Portiuncula,  destined  solely  for  men. 
He  therefore  conducted  her  to  the  Benedictine  nunnery  of 
S.  Paolo,  where  she  might  remain  till  the  designs  of  God 
towards  her  were  made  more  clear. 

When  the  parents  and  relations  of  Clara  heard  what  she  had 
done,  they  were  angry,  vexed,  some  were  amused.  It  was  a 
girhsh  freak,  a  momentary  ebullition  of  religious  excitement ; 
they  sought  her  in  her  refuge,  and  endeavoured  to  persuade 
her  to  return.  She  steadfastly  refused.  Her  resolution 
irritated,  exasperated   them.     They  tried  to  tear  her  away. 


-* 


»J<- 


-»J< 


122  L  ives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  I  a. 


She  clasped  the  altar  cloth,  it  was  half  dragged  oflF  in  the 
struggle.  Finding  her  obstinate,  they  withdrew,  supposing 
that  a  few  days  of  fasting  and  lying  on  a  hard  couch 
would  alter  her  determination.  They  were  greatly  mistaken, 
it  served  to  confirm  Clara  in  her  love  of  a  cloistered  life. 

From  S.  Paolo  she  removed,  by  the  advice  of  S.  Francis, 
to  the  Benedictine  nunnery  of  S.  Angelo  de  Panfo,  outside 
the  town. 

The  thoughts  of  her  favourite  sister  and  companion 
Agnes  filled  her  mind.  She  craved  for  her  society,  she 
trembled  for  the  salvation  of  Httle  Agnes,  left  without  hei 
protecting  care  in  the  world.  She  therefore  prostrated  her- 
self before  the  altar,  and  besought  the  Lord  to  give  her 
Agnes  as  a  companion  in  the  cloister  as  she  had  been  a 
companion  in  her  father's  house.  A  fortnight  after  the  re- 
ception of  Clara,  Agnes  secretly  left  home,  ran  to  the  con- 
vent, and  threw  herself  into  her  sister's  arms,  begging  to  be 
allowed  to  remain  for  ever  by  her. 

The  parents  of  the  two  girls  were  exceedingly  incensed  at 
the  flight  of  their  youngest  daughter,  who  was  quite  a  child, 
and  who  was  passionately  loved  by  them.  They  went  to 
the  convent  to  reclaim  her.  They  carried  her  off,  but 
Agnes  by  her  struggles,  and  by  opposing  her  dead  weight  to 
their  efforts,  tired  them  out ;  Clara  rushed  to  the  rescue, 
caught  up  the  child,  when  the  parents  had  relaxed  their  hold 
on  her  for  a  moment,  and  ran  with  her  back  to  the  convent. 

Soon  after  this  the  church  of  S.  Damiano  was  given  to  the 
two  sisters  by  S.  Francis,  who  had  repaired  it  for  use,  and 
therewith  the  foundation  of  an  order  of  religious  women  in 
connexion  with  the  society  of  the  Minorites  was  begun. 
Many  girls  and  women,  moved  by  the  exhortations  of  the 
Franciscans,  placed  themselves  under  the  sheltering  walls  of 
S.  Damiano.  Beatrice  soon  followed  her  sisters,  and  Hor- 
tulana,  the  mother,  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  sought  a 


*- 


August  ia.l 


^y.  Clara. 


123 


refuge  from  the  world  in  the  cloister  with  her  daughters. 
Clara  was  appointed  abbess  by  S.  Francis,  and  she  ruled 
the  community  with  love  and  care.  She  was  fully  inspired 
with  the  same  enthusiastic  devotion  to  poverty  that  animated 
the  great  patriarch.  She  would  not  allow  her  daughters  to 
possess  anything  as  their  own,  she  would  not  allow  the 
Society  to  have  any  possession, — the  begging  friars  must 
feed  them  with  the  crusts  and  crumbs  they  extorted  from 
tlie  charitable  every  day. 

From  Innocent  III.  she  obtained  sanction  for  this  privi- 
lege of  poverty,  of  living  solely  on.  the  alms  of  the  beneficent ; 
and  the  order  has  ever  since  borne  the  title  of  the  "  Poor 
Clares."  Gregory  IX.  thought  the  rule  unreasonable,  and 
offered  to  relax  it,  but  Clara  protested  that  it  was  not  irk- 
some, and  entreated  that  it  might  be  maintained  in  its  full 
rigour. 

Gregory  IX.,  perhaps  moved  by  malicious  gossip,  sent 
peremptory  orders  that  the  friars  were  not  to  go  in  and  out 
of  the  convent  of  the  Poor  Clares,  under  the  excuse  that 
they  were  ministering  to  them  the  Word  of  God.  He 
would  not  have  them  set  their  foot  within,  unless  with  his 
express  and  formal  sanction.  "  Very  well,"  said  Clara ;  "  if 
tlie  holy  friars  may  not  feed  us  with  the  bread  of  life,  they 
shall  not  minister  to  us  the  bread  that  perishes ;"  and  she 
refused  the  crusts  and  broken  meat  they  had  collected  in 
their  rounds.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  whole  convent 
would  starve ;  in  a  few  days  the  Poor  Clares  would  be  dead. 
An  express  was  sent  to  the  Pope.  Gregory  could  defy  an 
emperor,  and  that  such  an  emperor  as  Barbarossa,  but  not 
a  woman.  He  held  his  ground  dauntlessly  against  Fre- 
derick II.,  but  he  yielded  at  once  to  the  opposition  of 
8.  Clara. 

Clara  is  said  to  have  practised  mortifications  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  Pope  and  S.  Francis  combined  to  insist  on 


-* 


*- 


124  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  n. 


her  moderating  her  passion  for  self-torture.  The  life  of  the 
sisters  was  one  long  dreary  penance  ;  even  their  sacred  ser- 
vices were  unrelieved  by  music ;  they  were  to  be  read  at 
Easter,  as  in  the  dolorous  season  of  the  Passion.  Those 
who  could  not  read  were  not  suffered  to  learn  to  read.  To 
acquire  death  to  the  world  by  habits  of  devotion  was  to  be 
their  sole  occupation  and  delight. 

In  1243  Innocent  IV.  became  Pope,  and  hopes  were 
entertained  that  some  reconciliation  might  be  effected  be- 
tween the  Holy  See  and  the  German  Empire,  which  might 
mitigate  the  miseries  of  Italy.  But  such  hopes  were 
speedily  frustrated,  and  the  war  continued  as  before.  In 
the  Council  of  Lyons,  1245,  the  Pope  deposed  and  excom- 
municated the  Emperor.  "  The  sentence  of  God  must  pre- 
cede our  sentence  :  we  declare  Frederick  excommunicated 
of  God,  and  deposed  from  all  the  dignity  of  the  empire, 
and  from  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  We  add  our  sentence 
to  that  of  God;  we  excommunicate  Frederick,  and  de- 
pose him  from  all  the  dignity  of  the  Empire,  and  from  the 
kingdom  of  Naples."  The  Emperor's  subjects  in  both 
realms  were  declared  absolved  from  all  their  oaths  and 
allegiance,  and  the  princes  of  Germany  were  ordered  to 
proceed  at  once  to  the  election  of  a  new  Emperor.  The 
kingdom  of  Naples  was  reserved  to  be  disposed  of  by  the 
Pope  and  the  cardinals.  The  council  sat  panic-stricken; 
the  imperial  ambassadors  uttered  loud  groans  and  beat  their 
breasts  in  sorrow ;  as  well  they  might — the  sentence  meant 
general  revolt  throughout  Germany  and  Italy,  bloodshed, 
and  fire,  and  ruin.  Frederick  received  the  report  of  his 
dethronement  at  Turin.  "The  Pope  has  deprived  me  of 
my  crown !  Whence  this  presumption,  this  audacity  ? 
Bring  hither  my  treasure  chests."  He  opened  them.  "  Not 
one  of  my  crowns  but  is  here."     He  took  one  out,  placed  it 


-* 


August  la.] 


5".  Clara. 


125 


->i< 


on  his  head,  and  with  a  terrible  voice,  his  heart  bursting 
with  wrath,  exclaimed,  "  I  hold  my  crown  of  God ;  the 
Pope,  the  council,  the  devil  himself  shall  not  wrench  it  from 
me!" 

The  dogs  of  war  were  unslipped.  Italy  became  a  prey 
to  the  adverse  factions  of  Guelph  and  Ghibelline.  War 
swept  the  peninsula  from  north  to  south ;  sometimes  the 
Papal  forces  were  successful,  more  often  those  of  the 
Emperor. 

In  1 249  the  German  troops  defeated  those  of  the  Pope 
under  Cardinal  Capoccio  in  a  bloody  battle.  The  standard 
of  the  keys  had  to  fly  before  that  of  the  eagle.  The  ravages 
committed  in  Central  Italy  were  fearful.  The  men  of 
Foligno  and  the  German  soldiery  destroyed  Nocera,  sparing 
only  its  lofty  castle.  The  clergy  fled,  leaving  their  books 
and  sacred  vessels  to  the  pillagers,  who  quartered  themselves 
and  their  horses  in  the  cathedral.  A  convent  near  Fermo 
was  ransacked,  plundered,  its  mills  burnt,  its  bells,  doors, 
bedding,  live  stock,  even  down  to  the  beehives,  carried  off. 
Umbria  became  the  prey  of  the  freebooters  who  followed 
the  imperial  captains.  Assisi  was  assailed  by  the  Saracens 
acting  as  mercenaries  in  the  army  of  the  Emperor.  The 
nunnnery  of  San  Damiano  was  surrounded.  S.  Clara  lay 
on  a  bed  of  sickness ;  she  was  roused  by  the  cries  of  the 
sisterhood.  She  caused  herself  to  be  borne  to  the  point  of 
danger,  preceded  by  the  Host.  She  flung  herself  before  her 
Lord.  "  My  God  !  suffer  not  these  feeble  ones  to  fall  a  prey 
to  barbarians  without  pity !  I  cannot  protect  them.  I 
place  them  in  thy  hands."  She  thought  she  heard  an 
answer,  "  I  will  preserve  them."  "  Lord  !"  she  entreated 
further,  "have  mercy  on  this  city,  which  has  sustained 
us  with  its  alms."  Again  the  answer  was  borne  in  upon  her 
soul,  "  It  shall  not  suffer.     Be  of  good  courage  I" 


*- 


126 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


fAugust  IS. 


-* 


A  sudden  panic  fell  on  the  Saracens.  They  had  already 
climbed  the  walls;  they  jumped  down  outside,  withdrew 
their  ladders,  and  deserted  Assisi,  leaving  it  unhurt. 

Not  long  afterwards  Vitale  of  Aversa,  captain  of  the 
imperial  troops,  cut  down  the  trees  around  Assisi,  and 
swore  that  he  would  not  stir  till  he  had  taken  the  holy  city. 
But  S.  Clara  placed  ashes  on  the  heads  of  her  nuns,  and 
sent  them  all  to  their  knees.  On  the  next  night  the  be- 
siegers were  scattered,  and  their  leader's  death  soon 
followed. 

After  forty- two  years  of  the  religious  life,  S.  Clara  fell  sick, 
and  prepared  to  die.  Innocent  IV.  was  on  his  way  from 
Lyons  to  Perugia  with  his  college  of  cardinals.  He  heard 
of  the  illness  of  the  holy  abbess,  and  hasted  to  Assisi  to 
give  her  his  apostolic  benediction  before  her  departure.  As 
she  died,  she  was  heard  murmuring  that  she  saw  Our  Lord 
surrounded  with  virgins  crowned  with  flowers,  and  that  one, 
whose  flowing  wreath  was  arched  above  "  like  a  windowed 
censer,"  bowed  over  her  and  kissed  her. 

She  died  on  the  tith  August,  1253,  but  her  festival  is 
observed  on  the  12th,  the  day  of  her  burial. 

Her  body  was  buried  in  the  church  of  S.  George.  In 
1850  her  sepulchre  was  opened,  and  her  sacred  relics  trans- 
lated to  a  shrine.  Some  of  the  ribs  of  the  left  side  were 
given  to  the  Pope. 

S.  Clara  is  usually  represented  kneeling  in  ecstasy  before 
the  Host,  sometimes  standing  with  a  lily  in  one  hand  and  a 
book,  her  testament  left  to  her  nuns,  in  the  other. 


>i<- 


*- 


August  13.] 


iS^S".  Hippolytus  and  Concordia.        127 


-* 


August  13. 

SS.  HirroLVTUS,  Concordia,  and  Others,  MM.  at  Rome  ; 

A.D.  258. 
S.  Cassian,  M.  at  Imola  in  Italy. 
S.  Cassian,  BM.  at  Todi,  in  Unibria;  circ.  a.d.  303. 
S.  Radegund,  Q.  of  France,  at  Poitiers  ;  a.d.  587. 
SS.  Maximus,  Ab.,  andTwo  Anastasii,  CC.  at  Constantinople; 

a.d.  662  and  666. 
S.  \ws.iiK,  Empress,  at  Constantinople ;  a.d.  1124. 
S.  Radegund,  V.,  at  Wellenlur^  i>i  Stvabia  ;  endof\-^th  cent 
B.  John  Berchmans,  S.J.  at  Rome;  a.d.  1621. 

SS.  HIPPOLYTUS  AND  CONCORDIA,  MM. 
(a.d.  258.) 

[Almost  all  the  ancient  Roman  and  Latin  Martyrologies.     By  the  Greeks 
on  Aug.  10.    Authority  : — The  Acts  of  S.  Laurence  and  the  Martyrologies.] 

HERE  is  great  difficulty  about  S.  Hippolytus. 
Prudentius  the  Christian  poet  (born  a.d.  338,  d. 
circ.  A.D.  405)  says  that  S.  Hippolytus  was  com- 
memorated on  this  day  at  Rome,  and  that  he 
suffered  martjTrdom  at  Ostia,  and  was  torn  to  pieces  by 
being  attached  to  the  tails  of  wild  horses.  Now  on  Aug.  22 
S.  Hippolytus,  Bishop  of  Portus,  is  commemorated,  who 
suffered  martyrdom  by  being  attached  to  the  tails  of  wild 
horses.  Hippolytus  the  son  of  Theseus  died  a  very  similar 
death.  Cursed  by  his  father,  because  Phaedra  out  of  unre- 
quited love  had  hung  herself,  Neptune  sends  a  wild  bull  out 
of  the  sea,  as  Hippolytus  is  ascending  his  chariot. 

"  And  straightway  a  dreadful  fear  falls  on  the  steeds. 
But  their  master,  conversant  with  the  ways  of  horses,  seized 
the  reins  in  his  hands,  and  pulled  them  as  a  sailor  pulls  his 


-^ 


^- 


-^ >^ 

128  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  13. 


oar,  leaning  backwards.  But  they,  champing  with  their 
jaws  the  forced  bits,  bare  him  on  forcibly,  heeding  neither 
the  steering  hand,  nor  the  traces,  nor  the  compact  chariot ; 
....  the  car  was  overthrown,  the  felly  of  the  wheel  dashed 
against  the  rock,  and  all  was  confusion :  the  naves  of  the 
wheels  flew  up,  and  the  linchpins  of  the  axles.  But  the 
unhappy  man,  himself  entangled  in  the  reins,  is  dragged 
along,  bound  in  a  tight  bond,  his  head  dashed  against  the 
rocks,  his  flesh  torn,  and  he,  with  piteous  voice  crying,  Stay, 
ye  steeds,  trained  in  my  stalls,  destroy  me  not !  O  fatal 
imprecation  of  ray  father !  who  will  come  and  save  me, 
virtuous  ?  But  many  of  us,  wishing  to  do  so,  were  unable, 
not  being  fleet  enough ;  at  last  he,  I  know  not  how,  freed 
from  the  lacing  of  the  reins,  falls,  having  the  breath  of  life 
in  him,  but  only  for  a  very  short  time."^ 

The  chaste  Hippolytus,  martyr  to  his  virtue,  was  a 
favourite  character  in  story ;  his  death  a  subject  for  sculp- 
tors.    His  name  may  have  suggested  the  story  of  his  death. 

It  has  been  thought  that  the  tradition  of  the  death  of 
the  son  of  Theseus,  lingering  on  Roman  tongues  after  the 
aboHtion  of  the  old  gods  and  their  mythology,  may  have 
attached  itself  to  Hippolytus  the  martyr.  The  ancient 
Martyrologies  are  at  one  in  affirming  the  existence  of  such  a 
martyr  to  the  Christian  faith.  Had  the  story  been  that  he 
suffered  rather  than  lose  his  chastity,  we  might  be  sure  that 
the  story  of  the  Hippolytus  of  the  Martyrologies  was  a  trans- 
formation of  that  of  the  son  of  Theseus  and  Phaedra.  But 
such  is  not  the  case.  The  only  features  in  common  are  the 
•name  Hippolytus,  the  mode  ot  aeath,  and  perhaps  the  in- 
troduction of  the  nurse — in  the  Martyrology  called  Con- 
cordia, in  the  play  of  Euripides  unnamed. 

S.  Hippolytus  is  said  by  the  Acts  and  Martyrologies  to 
have  been  a  soldier  converted  by  S.  Laurence.     No  great 

1  Euripides,  Phaedra. 


^- 


*- 


-^ 


August  13.] 


6'6'.  Hippolytus  a7id  Concordia.       129 


reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  Acts.      That  there  was  a 
martyr  in  the  persecution  in  which  S.  Sixtus  and  S.  Laurence 
suffered,  named  Hippolytus,  may  be  admitted.     That  he 
suffered  by  being  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  horses   is   very 
questionable.     There  is,  however,  this  to  be  said  in  favour 
of  the  martyrdom,  that  it  may  have  presented  itself  to  the 
mind  of  the  magistrate  to  inflict  on  him  a  death  suggested 
by  the  fate  of  the  son  of  Theseus,  his  namesake.     Baronius 
thinks   that  three    Hippolyti    have    been    run    into    one. 
Hippolytus,  a  soldier  converted  and  baptized  by  S.  Laurence ; 
Hippolytus  of  Antioch,  and  Hippolytus  Bishop  of  Portus. 
But  there   was     probably  a   fourth    Hippolytus,    priest   of 
Ostia.    Prudentius,  who  lived  a  century  later,  made  grievous 
confusion.     He  confounded  him  with  S.  Hippolytus,  Bishop 
of  Portus,  an   ecclesiastical  writer  of  the  3rd  cent.     The 
greatest  difficulty  exists  in  unravelling  the  perplexing  his- 
tories of  the  saints  of  the  same  name.     It  is  not  even  cer- 
tain that  the  Hippolytus,  author  of  the  Paschal  Canon,  and 
regarded  as  a  doctor  of  the  Church,  was  Bishop  of  Portus. 
An  Hippolytus,  priest  of  Ostia,   and  a  martyr,  may  have 
existed,  and  Prudentius  may  be  correct.     At  any  rate,  he  is 
more  to  be  reHed  on  than  the  Acts  of  S.  Laurence. 

The  story  in  the  Acts  is  that  Hippolytus  was  a  soldier  in 
charge  of  Laurence  when  he  was  in  prison.  He  buried  the 
body  of  S.  Laurence,  and  was  brought  before  Decius  foi 
so  doing,  when  he  boldly  professed  his  faith.  The  emperor 
ordered  him  to  be  arrayed  in  his  military  dress,  and 
then  asked  him  if  he  was  not  ashamed  to  dishonour  his 
soldier's  name  and  livery  by  disobedience.  Hippolytus 
answered  that  he  had  passed  to  a  higher  service.  Among  the 
servants  of  Hippolytus  was  an  old  nurse,  Concordia,  a 
Christian.  She  was  beaten  with  leaded  whips,  and  died  under 
thelash.  Hippolytus  was  tied  to  the  tails  of  horses,  and  dashed 
over  stones  and  through  thickets  of  brambles,  till  he  died. 

VOL.  IX.  9 


y 


-* 


*- 


-* 


130  Lives  of  the  Saints.  f^ugust  t,. 

The  relics  of  S.  Hippolytus  at  are  Soissons,  in  the  church 
of  S.  Ursula  at  Cologne,  and  in  other  places  too  numerous 
to  mention. 


S.  CASSIAN,  M. 
(date  uncertain.) 

[Almost  all  Roman  and  Latin  Martyrologies.    Authority : — A  hymn  of 
Prudentius  ;  S.  Gregory,  of  Tours  ;  De  Gloria  Martyrum,  c.  43.] 

Cassian  was  a  schoolmaster  at  Forum  Syllse,  the  modern 
Imola.  On  the  breaking  out  of  persecution — which  one  is 
not  stated — he  refused  to  venerate  idols.  He  was  therefore 
given  over  to  be  murdered  by  his  scholars.  The  ferocious 
young  tigers  set  on  him  with  their  iron  pens,  tore  his  flesh 
with  the  points,  and  cut  his  head  with  their  slates,  till  the 
old  man  sank  down  weltering  in  his  blood,  and  died  between 
their  feet. 


S.  RADEGUND,  Q. 

(a.d.  587.) 

[Galilean  and  Roman  Martyrologies.  Authorities : — A  life  by  S.  Venantius 
Fortunatus,  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  &.  Radegund  ;  S.  Gregory  of 
Tours,  in  his  History  of  the  Franks ;  another  life,  by  the  nun  Baudonivia, 
the  disciple  of  the  Saint.] 

The  gentle  and  holy  queen  who  won  for  herself  the 
love  of  her  contemporaries  in  France,  and  the  veneration 
of  posterity,  was  a  Thuringian  princess,  the  daughter  of 
Berthar,  who  divided  with  his  brothers,  Baderic  and 
Hermannfried,  rule  over  the  Thuringian  Germans.  Her- 
mannfried,  greedy  of  a  larger  dominion,  attacked  Berthar, 
overthrew  and  killed  him.  Radegund  and  her  brother  were 
taken  by  their  victorious  uncle,  and  brought  up  in  his  court. 
Theodoric,  son  of  Clovis,  who  claimed   sovereignty  over 


>t<- 


-* 


August  13.] 


S.  Radegund. 


131 


Thuringia,  resented  the  ambition  of  Hermannfried,  or  deemed 
it  an  excuse  for  rendering  his  sovereignty  more  real  and  less 
nominal  over  the  wooded,  wild,  and  distant  Thuringia.  In 
or  about  529  he  sent  his  son  Theodebert,  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  to  chastise  Hermannfried.  The  young  prince  executed 
his  commission  with  zeal  and  spirit.  A  battle  was  fought  on 
the  Unstrut,  which  ended  in  the  complete  route  of  the 
Thuringians,  and  the  flight  of  Hermannfried.  Theodebert, 
accompanied  by  his  uncle  Clothair,  pursued  their  advan- 
tage, and  took  Erfurt,  the  capital.  Radegund  and  her 
brothers  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  captors.  They  were 
very  young,  Radegund  quite  a  child.^ 

Clothair  left  his  nephew  to  complete  the  subjugation  of 
Thuringia,  and  returned  with  the  captives  to  Soissons; 
Radegund  was  placed  in  the  royal  villa  Aties  on  the  Somme 
to  be  educated.  There  she  spent  her  childish  years,  happy 
in  keeping  the  church  tidy  and  clean,  sweeping  it  herself, 
and  taking  away  the  dust  of  the  altar  in  her  handkerchief 

It  is  uncertain  in  what  year  Clothair  sent  to  have  Rade- 
gund brought  to  Vitry  to  become  his  wife.  The  prospect 
was  a  sad  one  for  the  young  girl — for  Clothair  was  rude, 
voluptuous  and  cruel.  She  fled  down  the  river  in  a  boat  by 
night,  but  was  taken  and  brought  to  Soissons  and  married 
to  the  king. 

It  is  not  possible  to  distinguish  the  order  of  the  marriages 
of  Clothair,  and  we  cannot  tell  whether  Radegund  was  his 
first  wife,  or  whether  she  followed  others.  But  it  is  plain 
from  what  is  known  of  the  conduct  of  Clothair,  that  he 
must  have  given  the  fair-haired  German  bride  every  reason 
for  alienation  and  separation.  One  of  his  wives  was  Inde- 
gunda.  "  My  lord,"  said  she,  "  hath  made  of  his  handmaid 
what  seemed  to  him  good  ;  and  now,  to  crown  his  favours, 
let  my  lord  deign  to  hear  what  his  handmaid  demandeth.    I 

'  "  Virguncula,"  Greg.  Turon. 

9— a 


^ 


_ ^^ 

132  Lives  of  the  Saints.  tAugustij. 

pray  you  be  graciously  pleased  to  find  for  my  sister,  Are- 
gund,  your  slave,  a  husband  rich  and  powerful,  so  that  I  be 
rather  exalted  than  abased  thereby,  and  be  enabled  to  serve 
you  still  more  faithfully."  At  these  words  Clothair  mounted 
his  horse,  rode  off  to  the  country  house  where  Aregund 
lived,  saw  her,  admired  her,  and  married  her.  Then  he 
returned  to  Indegund,  and  said  to  her,  "  I  have  laboured  to 
obtain  for  thee  the  favour  thou  didst  so  sweetly  solicit,  and, 
on  looking  for  a  man  of  wealth  and  capability  worthy  to  be 
united  to  thy  sister,  I  could  find  none  better  than  myself; 
know,  therefore,  that  I  have  taken  her  to  wife,  and  I  trow  it 
will  not  displease  thee."  "  What  seemeth  good  in  my 
master's  eyes  pleases  me,"  answered  Indegund,  "  only  let  thy 
servant  abide  still  in  the  king's  grace  " 

On  the  death  of  his  brother  Chlodomir,  Clothair  married 
his  widow,  Guntheuga,  and  took  possession  ot  his  brother's 
possessions.  He  married  also  Gunesind,  who  bore  him 
Chram  ;  also  Waldetrada  the  betrothed  of  Theodebald,^  and 
daughter  of  Waccho,  king  of  the  Lombards.  He  seized  along 
with  Waldetrada  on  the  possessions  of  his  nephew;  but 
being  rebuked  by  the  clergy,  and  the  princess  not  suiting 
his  fancy,  he  cast  her  off,  and  she  married  Garibald,  Duke 
of  Bavaria. 

Since  Gregory  of  Tours  gives  us  no  clue  as  to  the  succes- 
sion of  these  wives,  it  is  not  possible  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
marriage  of  Radegund.  After  six  years  of  union,  Clothair  had 
her  brother  murdered  in  cold  blood,  fearing  lest  he  should 
claim  the  sovereignty  of  Thuringia,  and  assert  his  indepen- 
dence. Radegund  had  endured  the  infidelities  of  her  coarse, 
voluptuous  husband,  but  this  last  cruel  stroke  was  more  than 
she  could  endure.  She  fled  from  court  to  Noyon,  where  she 
appealed  to  S.  Medard,  the  bishop,  to  release  her  from  the 
hated   union,   and   consecrate   her  to   God.     He  refused, 

'  Son  of  Theodobert,  brother  of  Clothair. 


August  13.1 


S.  Radegtmd. 


133 


-* 


mindful  of  the  Apostolic  precept,  "Let  not  her  who  is  married 
seek  to  be  released."  But  she  burst  into  the  sanctuary, 
wrapped  in  a  monastic  habit  and  veil,  and  going  to  the  foot 
of  the  altar,  charged  the  bishop,  "  If  thou  delayest  to  con- 
secrate me,  thou  fearest  man  rather  than  God,  and  He  will 
demand  my  soul  at  thy  hands."  S.  Medard  was  staggered. 
He  believed  that  her  blood  would  be  on  his  head  should 
she  fail  of  her  salvation  through  his  refusal.  He  extended 
his  hand,  laid  it  on  her  head,  and  consecrated  her  a  deaconess. 

She  retired  to  Sais,  near  Loudun,  in  Poitou,  where  she 
led  a  mortified  life.  Clothair  made  a  faint  effort  to  recover 
her.  It  was  reported  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Sais, 
resolved  to  take  her  to  him  by  force.  She  fled  to  the  church 
of  S.  Hilary,  at  Poitiers,  and  wrote  a  letter  entreating  him 
to  allow  her  liberty  to  follow  her  own  desires.  Clothair,  who 
had  found  her  presence  a  restraint,  had  already  solaced 
himself  for  her  absence  by  forming  a  new  alliance,  and  he 
good-humouredly  sent  her  money  to  spend  on  building  a 
convent.  With  this  she  erected  the  Abbey  of  S.  Cross,  at 
Poitiers. 

She  now  spent  her  time  in  that  way  most  congenial  to 
her  tastes,  in  nursing  the  sick,  serving  the  poor,  and  starving 
herself. 

She  sent  an  embassy  to  Constantinople  to  the  Emperor 
Justin  II.,  \vith  a  request  that  he  would  favour  her  with  a 
portion  of  the  true  cross.  The  emperor  readily  agreed  to 
her  request,  and  Radegund  heard  of  the  approach  of  her 
messengers  with  the  precious  relic.  She  hasted  in  excite- 
ment to  the  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  called  Meroveus.  He 
coldly  received  her,  and  declined  to  go  forth  in  full  pon- 
tificals with  all  his  clergy  to  meet  and  solemnly  transport  the 
relic  to  her  convent  church.  He  probably  doubted  its 
genuineness.  The  citizens,  or  at  least  those  of  position 
and  authority,  agreed  to  refuse  permission  to  its  introduction 


* 


1^ — (il 

1 34  Lwes  of  the  Saints.  [August  13. 

within  the  walls.  Radegund  appealed  in  a  pathetic  letter  to 
Sigebert,  the  king.  He  sent  orders  to  S.  Euphronius,  Arch- 
bishop of  Tours,  who  was  not  troubled  with  the  scruples  that 
embarrassed  Meroveus,  to  place  himself  at  the  disposal  of 
the  queen.  Meroveus  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  to  his 
country  house.  Before  the  king's  peremptory  order  the 
opposition  of  the  citizens  melted  away.  The  gates  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  revered  fragment  was  transported 
with  the  utmost  pomp  and  solemnity  to  the  monastic 
church.  Venantius  Fortunatus,  the  friend  of  Radegund, 
wrote  for  the  occasion  the  famous  hymn  "Vexilla  regis," 
and  it  was  sung  for  the  first  time  on  this  joyful  occasion. 

S.  Radegund  died  on  August  13,  587,  and  was  buried  by 
S.  Gregory,  Bishop  of  Tours,  who  has  given  us  so  many 
details  of  her  history  in  his  History  of  the  Franks,  and  Glory 
of  Confessors. 

The  body  of  S.  Radegund  was  burnt  by  the  Calvinists 
in  1562,  but  some  fragments  were  preserved.  In  1852  her 
gold  ring  was  discovered  by  a  labourer,  inscribed  with  her 
name ;  it  is  now  in  private  possession. 


&  IRENE,  EMPSS. 

(a.d.  1 124.) 

[Constantinopolitan  and  some  Greek  Menaeas.^ 

John  Comnenus,  the  eldest  son  of  Alexis  I.,  Emperor 
of  the  East,  and  Irene  III.,  was  married  in  his  eighteenth 
year  (in  1104)  to  Pyrisca,  daughter  of  Ladislas,  King  of 
Hungary.  Pyrisca  on  her  union  with  the  Greek  Church 
assumed  the  name  of  Irene,  and  is  reckoned  as  the  fourth 
of  that  name. 


*- 


*- 


August  13.] 


6".  Irene. 


135 


■© 


The  empress-mother  had  no  love  for  John,  but  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  her  daughter  Anna,  who  was  married  to 
Bryennius.  The  empress  sought  to  divert  the  crown  from 
the  head  of  her  son  to  that  of  her  son-in-law.  She  tormented 
Alexis  on  his  death-bed  to  bequeath  the  empire  to  Bryennius. 
He  steadfastly  refused.  She  persisted.  "  I  have  now  to 
attend  to  God  alone  !"  sighed  he,  reproachfully.  "  Go,  die 
as  you  have  lived  —a  hypocrite  !"  exclaimed  she,  scornfully. 
Anna  Comnena,  stimulated  by  ambition,  conspired  against 
her  brother's  life  ;  but  when  the  design  was  prevented  by  the 
scruples  of  her  husband,  she  passionately  exclaimed  that 
nature  had  mistaken  the  two  sexes,  and  had  endowed 
Bryennius  with  the  soul  of  a  woman. 

In  the  meantime  John,  stooping  over  his  dying  father, 
had  drawn  the  imperial  signet  unobserved  from  his  finger. 
Then  hastening  before  the  troops  and  assembled  people,  he 
proclaimed  the  death  of  the  emperor,  and  his  own  title  to 
succeed  him.  Alexis  was  not  yet  dead,  he  lingered  on  for 
twelve  hours,  but  by  this  crafty  act  John  secured  the  ground 
for  his  election  before  his  mother  and  sister  were  prepared 
to  contest  it. 

John  I.  was  sumamed  the  Beautiful.  He  possessed  all 
the  virtues,  none  of  the  faults  of  his  father.  His  dark 
olive  complexion,  bold  profile,  and  noble  eyes,  gained  for 
him  his  surname  ;  but  his  devoted  subjects  gladly  declared 
that  it  was  attributable  rather  to  the  excellency  of  his 
character,  and  of  his  rule. 

His  wife,  the  Empress  Irene  IV.,  was  gentle,  pious,  and 
charitable.  She  was  called  "  The  Hospitable ;"  wore  a 
grave  plain  dress,  more  like  a  nun  than  an  empress,  setting 
an  example  of  moderation  in  the  midst  of  a  society  which 
carried  luxury  in  dress  and  food  to  extravagance;  her 
adorning  was  not  that  of  wearing  of  gold  and  putting  on  of 
apparel,  but  was  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quie*;  spirit,  in 


■* 


^ . ,J, 

135  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  13. 

the  sight  of  God  of  great  price.  She  founded  the  monas- 
tery of  the  Saviour  at  Constantinople,  and  died  before  her 
husband. 


S.    RADEGUND,    V. 

(end  of  13TH  CENT.) 

[Venerated  in  Swabia  and  in  the  diocese  of  Augsburg.  Authority  : — An 
account  of  her  in  Raderus  ;  Bavaria  Sancta,  iii.  p.  156 ;  and  the  Acta 
Sanctorum.  J 

S.  Radegund,  of  Wellenburg,  near  Augsburg,  was  a 
servant  girl  who  occupied  what  little  time  she  had  at  her 
disposal  in  attending  to  some  poor  wretches,  who  lived  near 
the  farm  where  she  served,  and  who  were  troubled  with 
elephantiasis,  or  leprosy.  She  carried  them  of  her  own  food, 
and,  it  was  thought,  milk  and  butter  from  the  farm.  Her 
master,  so  runs  the  tale,  once  caught  her  carrying  off,  as  he 
supposed,  his  butter  and  milk.  He  insisted  on  examining 
the  pail,  and  what  she  held  in  her  hand.  She  had  soapsuds 
in  the  pail,  and  she  was  carrying  a  comb  to  clean  the  heads 
of  the  unfortunate  and  dirty  lepers.  He  gladly  let  the  girl 
go  her  way.  She  might  scrub  and  comb  them  as  much  as 
she  liked. 

One  wild  winter's  evening,  as  she  was  on  her  way  to  the 
lazar  house  on  her  errand  of  mercy,  she  was  attacked  by 
wolves ;  the  howling  of  the  wind  drowned  her  cries,  and  in 
the  morning  only  her  gnawed  bones  and  portions  of  her 
dress  were  found. 


^ ^ 


THE   LAST   MOMENTS   OF  THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN  MARY. 
After  a  Picture  by  Quintin  Matsys  in  the  Antwerp  Museum. 


Aug.,  p.  136.] 


[Aug.  15. 


*- 


-^j 


August  14.  J 


S.  Marcellus. 


137 


August  14. 

S.  MiCHAlAH,'  Prophet  in  Samaria  ;  circ.  B.C.  890, 

S.  Uksicinus,  M.  in  Illyricum;  circ.  A.D.  303. 

S.  EusEBlus,  M.  in  Palestine  ;  circ.  A.D.  304. 

S.  Marcellus,  B.M.  of  Apatnaa,  in  Svria  ;  circ.  a.d.  389. 

S.  EUSEBIUS,  P.  at  Home ;  ^th  cent. 

S.  Fachnan,  B.  of  Rosscarberry,  in  Ireland;  circ.  a.d.  sgow 

S.  MARCELLUS,  B.M. 
(A.D.  389.) 

[By  the  Greeks  and  Copts  on  Aug.  14.     Roman  Martyrology.    Autho- 
rities : — Theodoret,  lib.  v.  c.  21 ;  Sozomen,  lib.  vii.  15.] 

|HEODOSIUS  the  Great  used  his  power  as  em- 
peror compulsorily  to  extinguish  Paganism.  The 
inspection  of  entrails  of  victims,  and  magic  rites, 
were  made  capital  offences.  The  destruction  of 
the  temples  was  ordered  in  389  ;  in  391  an  edict  was  issued 
prohibiting  sacrifices,  and  even  entering  into  the  temples. 
In  the  same  year,  a  rescript  was  addressed  to  the  prefect  of 
Egypt,  fining  the  governors  of  provinces  who  should  set  foot 
within  a  temple  fifteen  pounds  of  gold.  The  same  year,  all 
unlawful  sacrifices  were  prohibited  by  night  or  by  day,  within 
or  without  the  temples.  In  392  all  immolation  was  pro- 
hibited under  the  penalty  of  death,  and  all  acts  of  idolatry 
under  forfeiture  of  the  house  or  land  in  which  the  otlence 
should  have  been  committed. 

The  Pagan  temples,  on  which  the  skill  of  the  architect  and 
sculptor  had  been  expended  at  a  time  when  art  had  reached 
its  greatest  exaltation,  might,  one  would  have  supposed, 
have  attracted  the  respect,  the  admiration  of  the  Christians 

^  The  SOD  of  Imlah. 


*- 


-* 


* . ^ 

138  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  14. 

who  could  not  imitate  their  beauty  or  dignity.  But  as  art 
had  declined,  so  had  the  sense  of  beauty  and  appreciation 
of  the  works  of  genius.  A  wave  of  coarseness  had  swept 
over  the  empire,  and  these  majestic  piles  were  eyed  only  as 
haunts  of  demons,  they  commanded  no  admiration,  they 
excited  only  the  passion  to  destroy.  If  the  Pagan  temples 
had  been  left  standing  in  all  their  stately  beauty,  but  void  of 
gods  and  worshippers,  desolate,  over-grown,  they  would 
have  been  the  most  splendid  monument  of  the  triumph  of 
Christianity.  If,  with  the  disdain  of  conscious  strength,  she 
had  suffered  them  to  remain  uninjured  but  empty,  posterity 
would  have  admired  her  magnanimity  whilst  it  contemplated 
these  treasures  of  art.  But  such  magnanimity  was  not  to  be 
expected  of  the  age.  It  was  one  of  fierce  zeal,  of  Christians 
no  longer  smarting  from  the  wounds  of  persecution,  but 
triumphing  in  the  knowledge  that  they  now  wielded  the 
power  used  for  three  centuries  against  them,  and  which  they 
could  turn  against  their  enemies. 

When  Theodosius  issued  his  edict  against  idolatry, 
Marcellus  was  bishop  of  Apamsea.  The  imperial  prefect  of 
the  East  went  to  Apamsea,  to  enforce  the  orders  of  the 
emperor,  taking  with  him  a  body  of  soldiers.  The  prefect 
undertook  to  demolish  the  temple  of  Jupiter,  which  was  of 
great  size  and  singular  beauty.  "  But,"  says  Theodoret, 
"  when  he  perceived  the  firmness  and  solidity  of  the  structure, 
he  thought  that  human  strength  could  not  disjoin  the  stones  ; 
for  they  were  of  large  size,  and  soldered  together  with  lead 
and  iron.  The  holy  Marcellus  observed  the  failure  of  the 
.  prefect,  and  sent  him  to  execute  the  mandate  in  some  other 
city  ;  whilst  he  prayed  to  God  to  reveal  the  means  of  destroy- 
ing the  edifice.  Next  day,  at  dawn,  a  man  came  to  him  who 
was  neither  a  mason  nor  a  stone-cutter,  but  a  simple  hod- 
man ;  and  he  offered  to  demolish  the  temple,  asking  only 
the  payment  awarded  to  two  workmen.     The  holy  bishop 

* >5& 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN  ON   THE  BED  OF  DEATH. 
After  Albert  Durer. 


Aug.,  p.  138.] 


[Aug.  15. 


*- 


-^ 


August  14.] 


S.  Marcellus, 


139 


having  agreed  to  pay  the  stipulated  sum,  the  man  proceeded 
to  work  in  the  following  manner.  The  temple  was  built  on 
elevated  ground,  and  had  a  portico  on  each  of  the  four  sides. 
There  were  also  columns  which  were  equal  in  height  to  the 
temple,  and  of  which  each  was  sixteen  cubits  in  circum- 
ference. The  stone  was  so  hard  as  scarcely  to  yield  to  the 
tools.  The  labourer  dug  deeply  around  the  foundations  of 
the  columns  \  and,  after  removing  the  earth,  substituted 
wood  of  an  oleaginous  nature,  to  which  he  set  fire."  Did  it 
never  strike  the  bishop  that  there  is  a  sort  of  sacrilege  in 
destroying  the  great  works  of  human  genius  ?  For  man's 
genius  is  a  Divine  gift.  These  Avorks  may  have  been  mis- 
directed, but  surely  they  might  have  been  baptized  and  conse- 
crated. One  cannot  read  without  disgust  and  indignation  the 
wanton  barbarity  ol  destruction  wrought  by  Marcellus.  "  The 
fall  of  three  columns  followed,  and,  in  their  fall,  they  dragged 
with  them  twelve  others.  The  side  of  the  temple,  which 
was  supported  by  them,  fell  down  at  the  same  time.  The 
crash  resounded  throughout  the  city.  In  the  same  way  did 
this  holy  bishop  destroy  other  temples." 

Sozomen  concludes  the  story.  Retribution  came  at  last. 
**  Having  heard  that  there  was  a  very  spacious  temple  at 
Aulone,  a  district  of  Apamgea,  Marcellus  repaired  thither 
with  a  body  of  soldiers  and  gladiators.  He  stationed  him- 
self at  a  distance  from  the  scene  of  conflict,  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  arrows  \  for  he  was  afflicted  with  gout,  and  he  was  not 
able  either  to  fight,  or  run  away  in  case  of  failure."  The 
hired  ruffians  employed  by  the  bishop  attacked  the  unfor- 
tunate peasants  who  defended  the  temple,  and  blood  flowed. 
Some  of  the  Pagans,  observing  Marcellus,  that  he  was 
undefended  in  the  heat  of  conflict,  rushed  to  the  place  where 
he  had  placed  himself,  as  he  hoped,  out  of  harm's  way,  and 
seized  him  and  burnt  him  alive.  "The  perpetrators  of  the 
deed  were  afterwards  found  out,  and  the  sons  of  the  bishop 


*- 


-* 


140  Lives  of  the  Saijits.  [Augrist  m- 


determined  to  avenge  his  death  on  them,  but  were  forbidden 
by  the  council  of  the  province,  which  decreed  that  it  was 
not  just  that  the  friends  and  relatives  of  Marcellus  should 
seek  to  avenge  his  death,  but  that  they  should  rather  give 
God  thanks,  in  that  He  accounted  Maicellus  worthy  to  die  in 


such  a  cause." 


S.     F  A  C  H  X  A  N.     B. 

(about    A.D.    590.) 

[Irish  Maityiolc^ies.  Authorities  : — Mention  in  the  life  of  S.  Pul- 
cherius,  &c.] 

S.  Fachts'a,  or  Fachnan,  of  Ross,  was  a  bishop  hving  at 
Ross  car  b  err}-,  about  570.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  disciple 
of  S.  Finlass  of  Cork,  but  this  is  a  mistake,  for  he  was  prior 
to  him.  He  was  for  some  time,  and  to  all  appearance  before 
he  settled  at  Ross,  Abbot  of  Darinis  Moelanfaidh,  new 
Molana,  a  small  island  of  the  river  Blackwarer  in  the  county 
of  Waterford.  His  school  at  Ross  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  and  frequented  in  Ireland,  and  continued  so  after 
his  death.     He  was  for  some  time  blind. 


to 

3 


o 


D 
■f. 
r. 


-* 


August  15.]     The  Assumption  of  the  B.  Virgm.    141 


August  15. 

Thb  Assumption  of  the  B.  Virgin. 

S.  Tharsicil's,  M.  at  Rome ;  a.d.  255. 

S.  Alypius,  B.  ofTagaste,  in  Africa  ;  circ.  A.D.  430. 

S.  Maccarthen,  B.  of  Clogher,  in  Ireland;  a.d.  506. 

S.  Altfried,  B.  ofHildesheim;  a.d.  875. 

S.  Arnulf,  B.  of  Soissons ;  a.d.  1087. 

S.  CoRMAC  II.,  B.  of  Murtlach,  in  Scotland;  a.d.  1122. 

THE  ASSUMPTION  OF  THE  B.  VIRGIN. 

[Roman  Martyrology.  In  the  Greek  Church  "  the  Repose  of  the  Virgin." 
It  was  celebrated  in  the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great  on  Jan.  18,  but  was 
transferred  at  the  request  of  the  Emperor  Maurice,  in  582,  to  Aug.  15 
(Niceph.  xvii.  28).  In  the  Council  of  Mainz  in  819,  it  was  appointed  as  one 
of  the  great  festivals  of  the  year.  Pope  Leo  IV.,  in  847,  provided  the 
festival  with  a  vigil  and  an  octave.  In  the  7th  cent.  Pope  Sergius  appointed 
litanies  for  that  day.] 

T  is  repugnant  to  Christian  feeling  to  think  that 

the  body  of  the  Blessed  Mother  of  Jesus  should 

have  become  a  prey  to  worms ;  that  Jesus,  who 

ascended  up  into  heaven  in  His  human  body, 

should  suffer  the  flesh  of  His  Mother  to  see  corruption.    The 

natural    instinct    of    the     Christian    heart   proclaims    the 

Assumption — that  on  the  death  of  Our  Lady,  her  Divine 

Son  should  have  assumed  her  body  and  soul  to  His  heavenly 

mansions. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  give  the  legend  of  the  death  of  the 
B.  Virgin,  her  burial  by  the  apostles,  and  their  discovery,  on 
opening  the  tomb,  that  it  was  filled  with  lilies  and  roses,  but 
that  the  body  of  Mary  was  gone,  as  it  is  a  mere  legend.  In 
place  of  it  I  give  a  translation  of  a  popular  Flemish  carol 
sung  on  this  day. 

* >ii 


. _ ^ 

142  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  15. 

SALVE  MARIA. 

Rejoice,  rejoice,  with  heart  and  voice  to-day, 
That  gentle  Mary's  tears  are  wiped  away. 
Who  will  not  join  the  angels'  strains, 
When  Mary  pure  her  throne  attains  ? 

Salve  Maria  I 

A  path  of  light  is  in  the  summer  sky ; 
And  as  the  holy  Mother  passeth  by 
The  clouds  are  lit  with  rosy  flame, 
And  angels  shout  in  glad  acclaim. 

Salve  Maria ! 

Behold,  the  gates  of  Zion  open  wide. 
For  her,  the  Virgin  Mother  and  the  Bride; 
And  Jesus  from  his  rainbow  throne 
Descends  to  lead  his  Mother  home. 

Salve  Maria ! 

Shall  He  forget  the  Mother  dear  who  pressed 
His  baby  lips  upon  her  loving  breast, 
And  bore  for  Him  the  scorn,  the  sneer. 
And  wept  for  Him  the  anguish  tear  ? 

Salve  Maria ! 

Oh  joy  !  to-day  the  Son  his  Mother  greets. 
The  sacred  heart  of  each  with  rapture  beats, 
And  love  that  never  chilled  below, 
Throughout  eternity  shall  flow. 

Salve  Maria  I 

Forget  the  anguish  of  the  Dolorous  way. 

When  thou  didst  meet  him.  Mother,  and  didst  stay 

Thy  Son  with  tears ;  forget  the  pain 

Of  watching  Him,  cross-bearing,  strain. 

Salve  Maria ! 

* — ' ^ 


FUNERAL    OF    THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN    MARY. 
After  a  Picture  by  Mantegna  in  the  Madrid  Museum. 


Aug.,  p.  142.] 


[Aug.  15. 


^ -li, 

August  isi  '^'  Tkarsicius.  143 

Forget  the  hours  of  woe  on  Calvary, 

The  moment  when  they  laid  Him  on  thy  knee, 

And  then  when  thou  wast  left  alone 

Before  the  closed  and  sealed  stone — 

Salve  Maria  1 

Now  thy  ascended  Son  exalteth  thee. 
That  where  He  is  there  thou  may'st  also  be. 
Thee,  magnified,  O  Queen  !  we  greet. 
Enthroned  upon  thy  heavenly  seat. 

Salve  Maria ! 

O  Mother,  crowned  the  angels'  queen  to-day, 
O  Mother,  full  of  smiles,  to  thee  we  pay 
Our  joyous  laud  and  homage  sweet. 
And  thee  with  jubilation  greet 

Salve  Maria ! 


S.  THARSICIUS,  M. 
(a.d.  255.) 

[Little  Roman   Martyrology,   Ado,    Usuardus,   &c.      Modern   Roman 
Martyrology.     Authority  : — The  Acts  of  Pope  S.  Stephen  (Aug.  ii).J 

Tharsicius,  an  acolyte,  was  bearing  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  B.  Sacrament  to  the  Christian  prisoners  during  the 
persecution  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus,  when  he  was  arrested 
by  the  pagan  rabble  on  his  way,  and  asked  what  he  bore  so 
reverently.  But  he  refused  to  reveal  the  sacred  mystery, 
whereupon  he  was  assailed  by  the  mob  with  sticks  and 
stones.  He  hastily  consumed  the  sacred  gift  he  was  bearing, 
and  then  sank  covered  with  blood  on  the  pavement.     The 

ii( ^^ 


^ ^ 

144  Lives  of  the  Saints.  f^ugust  15. 


mob  rushed  on  him,  tore  his  arms  apart,  rent  his  clothes, 
and  sought,  but  found  nothing.  He  was  taken  up  by  some 
of  the  faithful,  and  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  S.  Calixtus  on 
the  Appian  Way.  A  touching  picture  of  this  martyrdom  has 
been  drawn  by  Cardinal  Wiseman  in  his  story  of  Fabiola. 
The  sepulchre  of  S.  Tharsicius  was  adorned  and  inscribed 
with  an  epitaph  by  Pope  S.  Damasus. 


S.  ALYPIUS,  B.  OF  TAGASTE. 
(about  a.d,  430.) 

[Not  in  any  ancient  Martyrologies,  Greek  or  Latin.  Inserted  in  the 
Roman  Martyrology  in  1584.  Authorities  : — A  letter  to  S.  Alypius  by  S. 
Paulinus  of  Nola  ;  three  epistles  of  S.  Augustine  ;  mention  in  the  Confessions 
of  S.  Augustine.") 

Alypius  was  a  native  of  Tagaste  in  Num.idia,  the  city  of 
which  S.  Augustine  was  also  a  native.  He  was  born  about 
A.D.  354,  and  was  rather  younger  than  Augustine.  He 
studied  grammar  at  Tagaste  with  Augustine,  and  the  two  young 
men  became  warmly  attached  to  one  another.  When  Au- 
gustine moved  to  Carthage  and  opened  his  school  for  rhe- 
toric, Alypius  followed  him.  In  the  capital  the  games  of  the 
circus  interested,  excited,  engrossed  Alypius,  to  the  vexation 
of  his  friend  and  instructor.  A  difference  arose  between  the 
father  of  Alypius  and  Augustine,  which  led  to  the  interrup- 
tion of  the  attendance  of  the  former  in  the  schooL  Their 
intimacy  continued,  though  a  coolness  had  begun  to  dash 
it,  when  a  circumstance  occurred  which  restored  it  to  its 
former  warmth.  Alypius  one  day  sauntered  into  the  school, 
and  sat  down  to  listen  to  the  declamation  of  his  friend,  who, 
just  then  had  taken  the  games  of  the  circus  as  his  topic  for 
vehement  condemnation.    Augustine  was  not  at  the  moment 


FROM   THE   OFFICE   OF   THE  ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   B.V.M. 

In  the  Vienna  Missal. 


Aug. ,  p.  144.  ] 


[Aug.  15. 


*- 


-* 


August  1$.] 


6*.  A ly piles.  145 


thinking  of  Al)-pius,  but  the  latter  took  the  words  to  heart, 
and  resolved  to  shake  oflf  the  powerful  attraction  exerted 
on  him  by  the  circus.  He  appealed  to  his  father,  and  he 
was  again  allowed  to  attend  the  lectiures  of  Augustine. 

Both  young  men  were  at  this  time  attracted  by  the  stem 
virtue  of  the  Manichceans  to  embrace  their  doctrine,  so 
clear,  cutting  the  knot  of  difl5culties  which  beset  the  order 
of  the  world.  Spirit  on  one  side,  matter  on  the  other; 
here  those  who  live  to  the  spirit,  there  those  who  yield 
themselves  servants  to  the  world.  The  contest  is  ever 
on,   the   camps   are   ever   in   deadly   hostility;   the 


goin 


world,  life,  is  the  battlefield  on  which  the  warfare  is  in- 
cessantly waged.  Augustine  never  wholly  broke  free  from 
Manichffiism,  which  tinged  his  teaching  in  afterlife. 

From  Carthage  Al}'pius  betook  himself  to  Rome  to  learn 
law,  strong  in  his  resolution  to  keep  stem  guard  over  his 
passions,  to  live  to  reason,  intelligence,  spirit ;  and  not  to 
become  the  prey  of  passion  and  the  delights  of  the  flesh. 

There  came  a  great  show  day  in  the  amphitheatre,  a  fight 
of  men  wnth  wild  beasts,  of  gladiators  with  gladiators.  All 
Rome  was  crowding  to  the  sight  His  comrades  drew  him 
with  them.  "You  may  draw  my  body,"  said  he,  "but  my 
soul  cannot  be  stirred-  I  will  keep  my  eyes  shut."  He 
took,  or  was  forced  to,  a  seat.  He  saw  the  great  ring  full  of 
heated,  excited  faces,  the  yellow^  sandy  arena,  on  which  a 
few  listless  attendants  stood  awaiting  tlie  signal  Alypius 
closed  his  eyes.  The  games  began ;  men  were  fighting  each 
other.  The  blood  began  to  spout ;  the  contest  waxed  hot 
A  quiver  ran  through  the  thousands  present,  a  hush,  a  gasp ; 
then  one  of  the  gladiators  hewed  a  great  gash  in  his  oppo- 
nent, who  staggered  back-  The  whole  concourse  burst  into 
a  fierce  roar.  Al)-pius  opened  his  eyes.  At  once  the  enthu- 
siasm, the  mad  ferocious  passion  for  blood  woke  within  him, 
his  heart  bounded  or  stood  still,  he  waved  his  hand,  his 

VOL.  IX-  10 

^ ^ 


»J< ■ —*^ 

146  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  15. 

cheeks  burnt,  his  eyes  glared,  his  voice  roared  with  the 
mob. 

Who  of  us  can  tell  what  was  the  mad  delight  of  an  old 
gladiatorial  combat?  Only  those  who  have  witnessed  a 
Spanish  bull-fight,  and  they  only  coldly  ;  for  what  is  the 
slaughter  of  a  bull  or  two,  to  the  butchery  of  men  with  living 
souls  and  nerves  strung  as  keen  as  ours,  with  weeping 
widows  and  wailing  orphans  in  prospect  ? 

The  late  Maximilian  of  Mexico,  than  whom  a  gentler, 
purer,  more  amiable  spirit  has  scarcely  existed  in  this  age, 
confesses  in  his  "  Recollections,"  the  sympathetic  delight  he 
felt  in  a  bull-fight.  '*  How  the  feelings  of  a  man  can  be 
changed  in  so  short  a  space  as  a  quarter  of  an  hour !  On 
entering  I  felt  uneasy  and  uncomfortable,  and  now  a  mania 
for  the  bloody  spectacle  possessed  me.  I  could  not  turn  my 
eyes  away ;  each  moment  of  the  fight  enchained  me  with 
irresistible  force.  The  excitement  produced  by  the  sight  of 
danger  carries  every  mind  away  along  the  stream  of  enthu- 
siasm. I  was  told  of  a  stranger  who  expressed  himself 
strongly  as  to  the  barbarism  of  this  festival,  his  tender  feel- 
ing made  him  abhor  what  he  had  not  seen,  and  that  a  friend 
who  knew  from  experience  the  charm  of  this  national  plea- 
sure, induced  him,  though  filled  with  abhorrence,  to  visit 
the  Corrida.  At  the  sight  of  the  noble  combat  he  was  also 
seized  by  the  sweet,  wild  intoxication,  and  eagerly  asked  his 
friend  when  the  next  bull-fight  would  take  place.  I  only 
regretted  that  my  sojourn  in  Spain  was  not  long  enough  for 
me  to  enjoy  this  splendid  sight  again." 

•Alypius  was  overmastered.  On  every  opportunity  he  was 
again  in  the  Colosseum ;  and  he  resumed  his  visits  to  the 
circus,  his  passion  for  horse  and  chariot  races  having  re- 
vived, beside  this  new  rage  for  gladiatorial  fights.  But  withal 
he  lived  well,  was  chaste  and  temperate,  upright  and  truth- 
ful^ was  generally  respected,  and  became  assessor  of  justice 

*— — »j( 


THE  VIRGIN  CROWNED  BY  THE  FATHER   ETERNAL. 

At  the  foot  S.  JOHN,  S.  AUGUSTINE,  S.  JEROME  and  S.  ELOI. 

From  a  Picture  by  S.  Boticelli  in  the  Academy  des  Beaux-Arts,  Florence. 

Aug.,  p.  146.]  [Aug.  15. 


i* _ _^ 

August  IS.]  ^-  Alypius.  147 

in  the  court  of  the  treasurer  of  Italy.  In  this  charge  he 
showed  the  strictest  integrity.  A  powerful  senator,  whose 
favour  was  courted  by  many,  and  whose  resentment  was 
dreaded  by  all,  had  made  an  unjust  usurpation,  and  when 
the  case  was  brought  before  the  tribunal,  heavy  bribes  were 
oftered.  The  judge  wavered.  But  Alypius  indignantly  re- 
jected the  money,  and  disregarding  the  threats  of  the  senator, 
he  threatened  that  if  the  judge  did  not  give  sentence 
according  to  justice  he  would  leave  the  bench. 

When  S.  Augustine  came  to  Rome,  Alypius  clave  to  him 
with  all  the  warmth  of  old  friendship,  and  in  384  accom- 
panied him  to  Milan.  There  the  two  friends  were 
joined  by  Nebridius,  another  African  acquaintance.  They 
lived  happily  together,  and  were  now  subject  10  the  influence 
of  S.  Ambrose.  The  conversion  of  Augustine  was  followed 
by  that  of  Alypius,  and  they  were  baptized  together  on 
Easter  Eve  by  the  great  Ambrose,  at  Milan,  in  387.  Some 
time  after,  they  returned  to  Rome,  and  having  spent  a  year 
there  in  retirement,  went  back  to  Africa.  They  lived  to- 
gether at  Tagaste,  in  a  small  community  of  devout  souls,  and 
in  the  practice  of  prayer,  fasting,  and  study. 

Thus  they  spent  three  years,  when  S.  Augustine  was  or- 
dained priest  at  Hippo.  The  community  removed  there  to 
be  with  him.  Alypius  shortly  after  paid  a  visit  to  Palestine, 
and  saw  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  S.  Jerome. 

Upon  his  return  to  Africa  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Tagaste,  about  a.d.  393.  He  assisted  S.  Augustine  with 
all  his  might  in  his  labours  and  difficulties. 

S.  Augustine  speaks  of  him  in  a  letter  written  in  429.  as 
old.     He  probably  did  not  live  long  after. 


10 — 2 


*- 


*- 


-* 


148 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


(August  15 


S.  MACCARTHEN,  B.  OF  CLOGHER. 

(a.d.  506.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.  Tallaght  and  Donegal  Martyrologies,  Kalendar  of 
Cashel,  &c.  Authorities  : — The  history  of  the  Saint  in  Colgan  ;  another 
version  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum  ;  both  late  and  not  very  trustworthy.] 

S.  Carthen  or  Maccarthen  was  a  disciple  of  S.  Patrick, 
and  became  Bishop  of  Clogher,  but  at  what  date  is  uncer- 
tain. Little  is  known  of  him  except  some  foolish  legends 
and  absurd  marvels  related  in  his  Acts. 


-* 


Aug.,  p.  148.] 


S.  ARNULF,   BISHOP  OF  SOISSOXS. 


[Aug.  15. 


^ ^ — >J< 

August  ,6]  -S".  Diomede.  149 


August  16. 

S.  Serena,  Matr.  at,  Rotne,  end  o/ yd  cent, 

S.  Diomede,  M.  at  Niccra,  in  Bithynia;  circ.  A.D.  304. 

S.  Arsacius,  H.  at  Nicotnedia;  a.d.  358. 

S.  Theodore  or  Theodulus,  B.  ofSion,  in  Switzerland. 

S.  SiMPLlciAN,  B.  of  Milan;  A.D.  400. 

S.  Vamnes,  M.  in  Persia;  a.d.  423. 

S.  Balsemius,  M.  at  Ramerude,  near  Troyes  in  France;  sthcettt. 

S.  Armagil,  C  in  Brittany ;  a.d.  552. 

S.  Hyacinth,  C,  O.  P.,  at  Cracow,  in  Poland;  A.D.  1257, 

S.  RocH,  C.  at  Montpellier,  in  France  ;  nth  cent. 

S.    DIOMEDE,    M. 
(about  a.d.  304.) 

[Greek  Mensea  and  Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil.  Roman  Martyrology. 
A  church  was  dedicated  in  his  honour  at  Constantinople  by  Constantine  the 
Great  within  thirty-five  years  of  his  death,  consequently  S.  Diomede  must 
have  been  venerated  shortly  after  his  death.  Authorities  : — Several  Greek 
Lives  or  Acts,  not  original,  but  all  agreeing  in  the  main  facts,  which  are 
apparently  perfectly  trustworthy.] 

lOMEDE,  a  physician,  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cili- 

cia,  lived  and  practised  in  Nicaea.     As  he  was  a 

Christian,   he   was  accused   to   Diocletian,   who 

ordered  him  to  be  brought  in  chains  to  Nicome- 

dia.     His  hands  and  feet  were  accordingly  fettered,  and  he 

was  placed  in  a  chariot.     On  the  way,  feeling  faint  and  ill, 

he  begged  his  guards  to  allow  him  to  get  out  of  the  carriage, 

and  rest  on  the  grass.     With  prompt  kindness  they  assisted 

him  to  the  ground,   when  he  had  just  strength  to  kneel 

down,  and  in  the  act  he  died,  probably  of  heart  complaint. 

The  soldiers  cut  off  the  head  and  took  it  to  Nicomedia, 
to  show  to  Diocletian  that  they  had  not  allowed  Diomede  to 
escape.  The  compilers  of  the  Menaea  and  Menology,  not 
satisfied  with  this  simple  story,  added  to  its  unvarnished 

Iff ^ ^ 


*- 


150  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  16. 

natural  truthfulness  an  absurd  miracle.  The  soldiers  who 
cut  off  the  head  were  blinded.  In  darkness  they  found  their 
way  to  the  emperor.  "We  cut  off  his  head,"  said  the 
soldiers.  "Put  it  on  again,"  said  the  emperor.  So  they 
groped  their  way  back  to  the  corpse,  and  when  they  had  re- 
adjusted the  head  to  the  shoulders,  their  eyes  opened 
again. 


S.  ARSACIUS,  H. 
(A.D.  358.) 

[The  little  Roman  Martyrology  and  the  Modern  one.     Ado,  Notker,  &c. 
Authoriiy  : — Sozomen,  Hist.  Eccl.  iv.  i6.] 

Arsacius,  a  Persian,  was  employed  in  keeping  the 
emperor's  lions,  but  when  he  was  converted  to  Christianity 
he  threw  up  his  employment,  and  witnessed  a  good  confes- 
sion before  Licinius.  He  then  went  to  Nicomedia  and  led 
a  monastic  life  within  its  walls.  There  in  a  vision  he  was 
warned  to  quit  the  city,  as  a  grievous  calamity  was  about  to 
befall  it ;  he  ran  at  once  to  the  church  and  besought  the 
clergy  to  offer  supplications  to  God  that  His  arm  might  be 
turned  away.  But  finding  that  his  warnings  were  not  listened 
to,  he  cast  himself  on  the  ground  in  the  tower  which  he  in- 
habited, and  prayed  that  he  might  be  spared  from  seeing 
the  ruin  of  the  city  in  which  he  had  first  known  Christ. 

Shortly  after  an  earthquake  shock  occurred,  the  city  was 
in  ruins,  timbers  falling  in  the  baths  and  furnaces  of  work- 
shops caught  fire,  and  the  town  was  in  a  blaze.  Those  who 
escaped  fled  to  the  citadel,  and  there  Arsacius  was  found 
lying  on  his  face  as  in  prayer,  dead.  "  All  the  details  about 
Arsacius,"  says  Sozomen,  "  1  have  obtained  from  persons 
who  heard  them  stated  by  those  who  had  seen  Arsacius." 


*- 


Ij( — — * 

6".  Hyacinth.  1 5 1 


August  i6.] 


S.  HYACINTH,  O.r. 

(a.d.  1257.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Canonized  by  Pope  Clement  VIII.  Authority  : — 
A  lifs  by  Leander  Albertus  given  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum.] 

S.  Hyacinth,  called  in  Poland  S.  Jacko  or  Jaczko, 
belonged  to  the  noble  family  of  Oddrovag,  was  born  at 
Camin  in  Poland  in  1185,  and  studied  at  Cracow,  Prague, 
and  Bologna,  at  the  last  of  which  universities  he  took  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  and  Divinity.  On  his  return  to 
Poland  he  was  at  once  given  a  prebendal  stall  in  the 
cathedral.  On  the  resignation  of  the  bishop,  S.  Vincent 
Kadlubek,  in  12 18,  Ivo  Konski.  uncle  of  Hyacinth,  became 
Bishop  of  Cracow,  and  went  to  Rome  accompanied  by 
his  nephews  Hyacinth  and  Ceslas.  S.  Dominic  was  then 
at  Rome.  Ivo  and  the  Bishop  of  Prag,  charmed  with 
his  sanctity  and  fervour,  urged  him  to  send  some  of  his 
preachers  into  their  dioceses.  S.  Dominic  was  unable  to 
do  so,  as  he  had  not  sufficient  friars  for  the  purpose,  but 
four  of  the  attendants  on  the  Bishop  of  Cracow,  among 
them  Hyacinth  and  Ceslas,  volunteered  to  enter  the  Society 
of  S.  Dominic,  and  to  be  trained  by  him  for  the  work  in 
Poland.  In  the  same  year  (12 18),  after  a  brief  novitiate  of 
six  months,  Hyacinth  was  appointed  Superior  of  the  mission» 
and  started  for  Poland.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Dominicans 
in  Cracow  they  were  received  with  great  favour,  and  the 
sermons  of  S.  Hyacinth  were  productive  of  much  good.  He 
founded  convents  of  his  Order  at  Sandomir,  in  Cracow,  and 
at  Ploksko  on  the  Vistula. 

He  passed  throughout  the  country  preaching  and  carrying 
the  light  of  the  gospel  into  Prussia  and  Pomerania.  He 
even  went  into  Denmark,  Gothland,  Sweden,  and  Nonvay, 
founding  convents  of  his  Order  wherever  he  went.     Then 


*- 


~»r 


^ — 

152  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  16. 

he  visited  Red  Russia,  where  he  combated  the  Eastern 
Church,  and  persuaded  the  prince  to  desert  it  for  the 
Roman  communion.  He  built  convents  at  Lemburg,  and 
Haletz  on  the  Mester,  and  then  invaded  Muscovy.  The 
Duke  Vladimir  IV,,  son  of  Ruric  II.,  with  noble  tolerance 
allowed  Hyacinth  to  establish  a  convent  at  Kieff,  but  was 
deaf  to  his  entreaties  that  he  should  join  the  Roman  Church. 
But  the  preaching  of  Hyacinth  in  Muscovy  left  no  perma- 
nent or  appreciable  results. 

Whilst  Hyacinth  was  at  Kieff,  a  terrible  Mongol  invasion 
occurred.  The  princes  of  Russia,  distracted  with  rivalry, 
their  strength  broken  by  civil  war,  could  not  oppose  an 
effectual  resistance.  A  bloody  battle  was  fought  on  the 
river  Kalka.  Three  princes  of  the  name  of  Mistislaff  sus- 
tained it  with  desperate  valour ;  but  two,  the  Great  Prince, 
Mistislaff  III.,  and  the  Prince  of  Chernigoff,  fell  in  the 
action  (a.d.  1224),  whilst  a  third,  the  Prince  of  Galich,  was 
compelled  to  fly.  The  barbarians  retired  ;  but  innumerable 
hosts  gathered  under  Bathi,  grandson  of  Genghis  Khan,  and 
twelve  years  after  (a.d.  1236)  burst  on  Russia  again.  The 
town  of  Riazan  was  the  first  to  suffer;  her  princes,  Oleg  and 
Theodore,  died  the  death  of  martyrs.  When  Vladimir  was 
besieged,  the  bishop  Metrophanes,  with  the  consort  of 
Vladimir  IV.,  her  daughter-in-law,  and  the  boyars,  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  cathedral ;  there  they  all  received  the 
holy  mysteries  from  the  hand  of  the  bishop,  and  from  the 
Lord  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  amidst  the  flames  and  smoke 
of  the  burning  temple.  George,  son  of  Vladimir  IV.,  fell  in 
battle  on  the  banks  of  the  Siti,  and  his  nephew.  Prince  Basi- 
liko,  died  a  martyr's  death  for  the  name  of  Christ. 

Next  year  (a.d, '1237)  came  the  turn  of  Southern  Russia, 
Pereyaslavla  perished  with  its  bishop,  Simeon.  The  Mon- 
gols surrounded  Kieff,  and  struck  with  its  antique  beauty, 
its  green  and  scarlet  and  gold  and  blue  cupolas,  and  spires 

(j, __ ^ 


^ . _ Ijl 

August  .6.J  S.  Hyacinth.  153 


hung  with  shining  chains,  clanging  forth  their  bells  all  day 
long,  offered  to  spare  it,  if  it  would  open  its  gates.  But  in 
the  absence  of  all  the  Russian  princes,  it  was  heroically 
defended  by  Demetrius,  a  boyar  of  Galich.  As  became  the 
mother  and  head  of  Russian  cities,  Kieff  gave  a  lesson  to 
all  Russia  in  preferring  a  glorious  end  to  the  disgrace 
of  slavery.  After  a  bloody  siege,  its  towers  and  every 
stately  church  and  monastery  were  converted  into  separate 
fortresses  by  the  despair  of  the  citizens,  when  the  ring  of 
walls  had  yielded  to  the  barbarians'  onslaught.  The  cathe- 
dral of  S.  Sophia,  the  church  of  the  Tithes,  founded  by 
S.  Vladimir  two  hundred  years  before,  the  monastery  of 
S.  Michael,  and  the  Pecherskoi  monastery,  were  taken  by 
storm  one  after  another,  and  became  a  prey  to  the  flames. 
John,  the  Metropolitan,  it  is  believed,  perished  in  the  gene- 
ral massacre  amidst  his  flock.  Hyacinth,  with  the  ciborium 
in  one  hand  and  an  alabaster  image  of  the  Virgin  in  the 
other,  was  more  fortunate.^  He  managed  to  escape  across 
the  river,  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  back  to  Cracow, 
where  the  image  became  afterwards  an  object  of  great  vene- 
ration. 

S.  Hyacinth  next  preached  to  the  Jazyges  on  the 
Danube.  He  is  said  to  have  been  so  successful  as  to  have 
converted  and  baptized  several  thousands.  It  is  pretended 
that  he  went  into  Great  Tartary  and  Thibet,  preaching,  but 
this  is  probably  an  invention  of  the  lively  imaginations  of 
authors  of  after  ages.  Nothing  is  said  of  it  in  the  earlier 
historians.  After  a  while  he  again  entered  Red  Russia, 
thinking  that  the  sufferings  of  the  country  might  have  in- 
duced the  people  to  turn  for   assistance   to   the   West,  a 

'  According  to  the  account  of  Severinus  of  Cracow,  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  when 
the  friars  came  cr>'ing  to  Hyacinth  that  Kieff  was  taken,  he  made  ready  to  run  out 
of  the  church,  when  the  alabaster  image  screamed  after  him,  "O  Hyacinth  !  are  you 
running  from  the  Tartars  and  leaving  me  behind  ?"  "  You  are  too  heavy  to  carry," 
answered  Hyacinth.    "  Try  me,"  answered  the  image. 


*- 


-^ 


154  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  x6. 

necessary  condition  for  receiving  which  was  renunciation  of 
the  Eastern  Church.  Seeing  the  distressed  condition  of 
the  Russian  Christians,  Pope  Innocent  IV.  sent  to  Prince 
David  of  Galich  a  crown,  and  a  promise  of  help,  of  sending 
a  crusade  of  Western  Christians  against  the  Mongols,  if  he 
would  abandon  his  schism.  The  papal  legates  visited  the 
court  of  S.  Alexander  Nevski,  Prince  of  Novgorod,  but  he 
refused  to  receive  the  letter  or  hsten  to  the  proposal. 
Daniel,  however,  acted  more  cautiously,  owing  to  his  proxi 
mity  to  Vengria  and  Poland.  He  accepted  the  crown  and 
the  title  of  King  of  Galich,  but  put  off  the  proposition  for  a 
union  of  the  Churches  till  there  should  be  an  oecumenical 
council.  A  Prince  Caloman  on  the  frontiers  proved  more 
accessible.  Fearing  lest  the  steadfast  adhesion  of  the  Rus- 
sians to  the  orthodox  faith  should  furnish  an  excuse  to  the 
Teutonic  Order  to  invade  and  possess  themselves  of  his 
territory,  he  listened  to  the  solicitations  of  S.  Hyacinth,  and 
abandoned  communion  with  the  Eastern  Church. 

Hyacinth  died  on  Aug.  14,  a.d.  1257,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two.  His  relics  are  preserved  in  a  chapel  dedicated 
to  him  at  Cracow. 


*- 


Aug.,  p.  154.] 


S.  ROCH.     After  Cahier. 


[Aug.  16. 


■* 


August  x6.]  S.Roch.  155 

S.    ROCH,    C. 

(14TH  CENT.) 

[Martyrologists  of  the  15th  cent.  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Autho- 
rities :— A  Hfe  by  Franciscus  Diedus,  a  Venetian,  governor  of  Brixen,  written 
in  1478.  This  is  the  earhest  hfe  of  S.  Roch.  He  says  in  his  prologue  :— 
"  Although  we  have  found  iiothing  trustworthy  about  Roch  in  ancient 
writers  or  in  sacred  codices,  we  have  collected  much  from  barbarous 
fragments  in  Latin  or  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  lest  the  race,  travels,  life  and 
death  of  this  holy  man  should  remain  in  obscurity."  In  a  word  his  hfe  was 
founded  on  popular  legends  of  the  same  authority  as  the  chap-books  of  a 
later  age.  Another  life  from  a  MS.  at  Belfast  is  published  by  the  Bollan- 
dists.     These  Uves  are  thoroughly  apocryphal.] 

It  is  difficult  to  say  to  how  much  of  the  romance  of  S. 
Roch  the  historian  should  apply  his  sponge.  That  S.  Roch 
was  a  native  of  Montpellier,  that  he  rambled  into  Italy  at  a 
time  when  the  plague  was  raging  there,  probably  in  1348, 
and  that  he  nursed  the  sick  and  dying  at  Aquapendente,  at 
Rome  and  Piacenza,  till  he  was  attacked  by  the  plague 
himself,  when  he  was  saved  from  dying  by  a  hound  which 
led  its  master  to  Roch,  lying  in  a  solitary  place  apparently 
dying  ;  that  he  returned  to  Montpellier,  where  he  was  taken 
up  as  a  spy,  and  thrown  into  gaol,  where  he  died — is  the 
utmost  that  can  be  admitted  as  possibly  fact  in  the  legend 
of  S.  Roch.  This  is  absolutely  all  that  Papebrock  the 
Bollandist  was  disposed  to  consider  as  trustworthy  in  the 
story.     But  even  this  is  questionable. 

In  or  about  1350,  a  squalid-looking  man,  without  means 
of  subsistence,  or  able  to  give  a  satisfactory  account  of  him- 
self, was  taken  up  by  the  authorities  of  Montpellier,  and  cast 
into  a  dirty  cell  of  the  common  gaol.  There,  partly  from 
neglect,  he  died.  On  the  removal  of  the  body  for  burial,  to 
the  surprise  and  dismay  of  every  one,  it  was  discovered  that 
the  reputed  vagabond  was  Roch,  a  nephew  of  the  governor 
of  Montpellier,  who,  having  been  bequeathed  by  his  parents  a 


*^ 


* — * 

156  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August  16. 

rich  possession  a  few  years  before,  had  left  it  in  the  care  of 
his  uncle,  and  had  gone  on  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Nothing 
had  been  heard  of  him  for  some  while.  In  the  dead  face, 
washed  for  burial,  the  familiar  features  were  retraced.  Pro- 
bably a  scrap  of  paper  with  the  name  of  Roch  on  it,  a  pass- 
port, or  something  of  that  sort,  served  to  complete  the 
identification. 

It  is  evident  that,  if  these  events  are  allowed  to  have 
occurred,  it  is  all  that  could  be  known  of  Roch.  By  no 
possibility  could  the  details  of  his  life  between  his  leaving 
home  and  his  death  become  known.  Consequently  we  may 
safely  put  down  all  the  history  of  his  rambles  to  popular 
invention.  That  he  had  gone  to  Italy ;  that  Italy  had  been 
attacked  by  plague  which  had  raged  throughout  the  penin- 
sula, and  that  there  was  a  scar  on  the  thigh  of  the  dead 
man  which  showed  he  had  been  assailed  by  the  disorder ; 
that  a  scrap  of  paper  had  been  found  among  his  eftects 
when  dead,  which  served  to  identify  him — these  were  the 
materials  out  of  which  the  fable  of  Roch's  pilgrimage  was 
woven. 

It  was  said  that  wherever  he  had  gone  he  had  miracu- 
lously expelled  the  plague  by  the  sign  of  the  cross.  He 
had  healed  the  plague-stricken  by  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands,  till  he  was  himself  attacked,  when  a  dog  brought 
him  bread  from  a  count's  table  every  day  to  supply  his 
necessities.  The  count,  following  the  dog,  found  Roch 
lying  in  a  miserable  hovel,  convalescent.  He  supplied  him 
with  necessaries,  and  he  recovered.  An  angel  had  struck 
him  on  the  thigh,  and  from  the  touch  the  plague-boil  had 
risen  and  burst.  Roch  visited  Rome,  was  well  received  by 
the  Pope,  signed  the  cross  on  the  brow  of  a  cardinal,  and 
left  it  so  deeply  impressed  thereon  that  no  rubbing  or  scrub- 
bing would  get  it  off  again.  Then  Roch  returned  to  Mont- 
pellier,  where  he  was  arrested  as  a  spy,  and  tlirown  into 

^ 1^ 


prison.  Feeling  himself  dying,  he  prayed  that  all  who 
should  invoke  him  and  rely  on  his  merits,  should  be  deli- 
vered from  the  plague,  and  an  angel  from  heaven  appeared 
in  the  prison,  and  wrote  on  a  tablet,  "  Those  labouring  from 
the  plague,  who  fly  to  the  patronage  of  Roch,  shall  be 
healed."' 

A  bit  of  the  spine  of  S.  Roch  is  shown  at  S.  Jacques,  in 
Antwerp  ;  other  relics  in  the  hospital  of  S.  Julian  in  the 
same  city.  In  1478  the  body  of  S.  Roch  was  stolen  from 
Montpellier,  and  taken  to  Venice,  where  a  church  was 
erected  to  receive  it. 

But  the  city  of  Aries  also  pretends  to  possess  the  relics  of 
the  Saint.  The  shrine  containing  it  was  melted  up  at  the 
Revolution,  but  the  body  itself  was  preserved.  The  relics 
are  at  present  under  the  charge  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  each  of  which  possess  a  key  to  the  reliquary, 
so  that  it  cannot  be  opened  without  the  concurrence  of 
both.  "  The  body  is  almost  entire."  So  is  that  at  Venice. 
Innumerable  other  portions  are  dispersed  through  Christen- 
dom. 

S.  Roch  is  represented  as  a  pilgrim,  with  his  left  leg 
exposed,  in  which  is  a  wound  to  which  he  points.  Some- 
times an  angel  is  at  his  side  touching  his  thigh.  The  angel 
generally  bears  a  tablet  on  which  is  written,  "  Eris  in  peste 
patronus."  Also,  frequently,  by  his  side  a  dog  bearing  a 
loaf  in  his  mouth. 

1  A  prose  in  honour  of  S.  Roch  in  the  missals  of  Toulouse,  Utrecht,  Milan,  &c.,  rum 
thus : — 

"  Rochus  ibi  vitam  finit  Nomen  Rochi  infra  scriptum 

Cui  Deus  dare  sinit  Quod  a  Deo  fuit  dictum 

Tabulain  per  angelum  Ut  qui  eum  decorant, 

Quae  divina  scribebatur  Pestis  ulcus  depellatur  : 

Scriptis  auri,  et  dictatiis  Sanitasque  his  reddatur 

Manu  Dei  siderum.  Qui  eum  commemoraut." 


Ij, ^ ^ 


Jj< -^ 

158  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August,,. 


August  17, 

S.  MvKO,  P.M.  at  Cyzinis  in  Mysia  ;  a.d.  250. 

S.  Mammas,  AT.  at  Ccesarea  iti  Cappadocia ;  circ.  a.d.  275. 

SS.  Paul  and  Juliana,  MM.  at  Ptolemais  in  Palestine ,■  arc. 

A.D.  275. 
SS.  LiBERATUs,  A6.   M.,  BoNiFACK,  AND  Othkrs,  MM.  at 

Carthage ;  A.D.  483. 
S.  James,  Deac.  C,  at  York;  circ.  a.d.  650. 
S.  Amok,  Ab.  of  Amorbach,  in  Franconia  ;  a.d.  767. 
S.  Jeron,  p.  M.  at  Egmoitd,  in  Holland;  a.d.  856. 
SS.  Benedicta  and  Cecilia,  W.  RR.  in  Juliers ;  loth  cent. 

S.    MAMMAS,    M. 
(about  a.d.  275.) 

[Greek  Mensea,  Constantinopolitan  and  Russian  Kalendars,  on  Sept.  2, 
on  which  day  also  at  Naples.  The  little  Roman  Martyrology,  that  attributed 
to  S.  Jerome,  the  Modern  Roman  Martyrology  on  Aug.  17.  Authorities  : — 
The  panegyric  in  honour  of  the  saint  by  S.  Basil,  Horn,  xxvi.,  and  S. 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  Or.  xliii.  The  Greek  Acts  are  fabulous  and  late  and 
not  to  be  trusted,  they  are  apparently  compounded  out  of  the  Acts  of  two 
martyrs  of  the  same  name,  S.  Mammas,  a  monk,  and  S.  Mammas  the 
boy.] 

ROM  the  words  of  S.  Basil  and  S.  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen, all  we  can  gather  concerning  S.  Mammas  is 
that  he  was  a  shepherd  who  suffered  martyrdom 
for  the  faith  of  Christ  at  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia. 
The  Greek  Acts,  very  untrustworthy,  and  the  notice  in  the 
Mensea  and  Menology,  say  that  he  was  a  shepherd  boy,  and 
that  he  suffered  under  Aurelian ;  but  these  notices  are  so 
mixed  up  with  fabulous  matter,  that  it  is  impossible  to  place 
much  reliance  on  any  of  their  statements. 

He  was  a  boy  of  twelve  years  old,  and  was  stoned  to 
death,  according  to  the  Acts;  according  to  the  Modern 
Roman  Martyrology  he  lived  to  an  advanced  age. 


(J, _ ^ 

August  17.]  SS.  Liberatus,  Boniface,  a?icl  others.   159 

The  body  of  S.  Mammas  lay  at  Csesarea  in  the  time  of 
S.  Basil  and  S.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  and  till  the  nth  cen- 
t\iry,  according  to  the  statement  of  Nicetas  of  Heraclaea,  who 
wrote  a  Commentary  on  the  Orations  of  S.  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen. In  the  6th  century  S.  Radegund  is  said  to  have 
sent  to  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  for  relics  of  S.  Mammas. 
The  patriarch  removed  one  of  the  fingers  and  sent  it  to  the 
queen.  The  body  of  the  saint  was  therefore  then  shown  at 
Jerusalem.  The  body  of  S.  Mammas  is  now  at  Milan.  There 
is  another  body  again,  brought  from  Cyprus,  to  which  it  is  said 
to  have  floated  in  a  marble  coffin.  A  head  with  flesh,  red  hair, 
and  beard,  neither  that  of  a  boy  nor  of  an  old  man,  said  to 
belong  to  S.  Mammas,  is  at  Lucca.  Part  of  another  head  and 
an  arm,  brought  from  Constantinople,  at  Langres ;  portions 
taken  off  this  relic,  at  Elwangen.  Other  relics  in  Portugal 
at  Lorbano. 


SS.  LIBERATUS,   BONIFACE,  AND  OTHERS,  MM. 

(a.d.  483.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  Ado,  Notker,  Usuardo,  &c.  Authority :— Their 
authentic  and  contemporary  Acts  published  by  Ruinart.] 

HuNERic,  the  Arian  King  of  the  Vandals  in  Africa,  con- 
tinued the  persecution  of  the  Catholics  which  had  begun 
under  Genseric. 

Seven  monks  lived  in  a  monastery  at  Capsa  in  Byzacene, 
Liberatus  was  abbot,  the  others  were  Boniface,  a  deacon, 
Servius  and  Rusticus,  subdeacons ;  Rogatus,  Septimus,  and 
Maximus  were  monks.  They  were  brought  to  Carthage, 
and  promised  honour  and  life,  if  they  would  conform  to  the 
established  Arianism.  With  one  consent  they  replied, 
'*  There  is  but  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism.     Do  with 


— * 


i6o  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  17, 


US   what  seemeth  good,  and  keep   your  riches   to  your- 
selves." 

They  were  laden  with  chains  and  thrown  into  a  dark 
dungeon.  The  faithful  bribed  the  guards  to  allow  them 
admission  to  the  confessors,  and  then  encouraged  them  to 
play  the  man  for  Christ.  Huneric,  on  hearing  of  this, 
ordered  them  to  be  confined  more  closely,  and  after  a  while 
to  be  put  on  board  an  old  ship,  set  adrift,  and  the  ship  fired. 
The  martyrs  entered  the  boat  without  fear.  Vain  eftbrts 
were  made  to  induce  Maximus,  who  was  very  young,  to  re- 
nounce his  belief  in  the  co-eternal  and  co-equal  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  vessel  was  piled  up  with  sticks,  but  the 
sticks  were  not  sufficiently  dry  to  kindle,  and  after  several 
ineffectual  attempts  to  set  them  on  fire,  the  martyrs  weie 
brought  back  to  land  and  their  brains  dashed  out  with  clubs. 


S.    JAMES,    DEAa 

(about  a.d.  650.) 

[Mayhew  in  his  Benedictine  Martyrology.] 

James,  an  Itahan  deacon,  accompanied  S.  Paulinus  in  his 
mission  work  in  Northumbria  in  the  early  part  of  the  7th 
century.  After  the  disastrous  battle  of  Hatfield,  in  which 
Edwin  the  converted  and  baptized  Northumbrian  king  had 
tallen  (Oct.  11,633),  Paulinus  fled,  taking  under  his  pro- 
tection Ethelburga,  the  widow  of  Edwin,  whom  he  placed 
under  the  care  of  her  brother,  the  King  of  Kent. 
Christianity  was  blotted  out,  only  a  few  sparks  remained 
alight,  kept  from  extinction  by  the  efforts  of  the  brave 
deacon  James,  who  remained  at  York  through  all  the  dis- 
asters to  which  Northumbria  was  exposed. 


m- 


*- 


August  17.1 


iS".  yames. 


161 


-^ 


When  S.  Oswald  ascended  the  throne  of  Northumbria 
(a.d.  635),  he  sent  for  missionaries  to  lona,  instead  of  Can- 
terbury, and  for  some  reason  not  mentioned  by  Bede,  over- 
looked James,  who  had  remained  gallantly  at  his  post  during 
the  storm  of  invasion  and  havoc,  and  had  continued  to  bap- 
tize, and  preach,  and  snatch  a  scanty  prey  from  the  hands 
of  that  old  enemy,  the  devil/ 

'  Beue  ii.,  16,  30. 


Finding  of  the  Croes  ty  S.  Helena.     See  p.  170. 


VOL.  IX. 


II 


* 


*- 


1 62  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  is. 


August  18. 

SS.  Florus,  Laurus  and  Others,  MM.  in  Illyricum;  sttdceat, 

S.  Agafetus,  M.  at  Palestrina,  in  Italy;  A.D.  275. 

S.  Helena,  Empress,  at  Constantinople ;  circ.  a.d.  328. 

S.  FiRMiNUS,  B.  o/Metz;  a.d.  496. 

S.  Dag^us,  B.  0/ Itiiscaoin-Deghadh,  in  Ireland;  a.d.  587. 

S.  Inan,  C.  at  Irvine,  in  Scotland;  gth  cent. 

S.  Clara,  V.,  at  Monte  Falco,  in  Italy;  a.d.  1308. 

S.  AGAPETUS,  M. 
(a.d.  275.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Named  in  nearly  every  Latin  Martyrology. 
Salisbury,  York,  and  Scottish  Kalendars.  Authority :— The  Acts,  which 
are  late ;  probably  an  amplification  of  the  account  in  the  Martyrologies.] 


T  Prseneste,    the    modern    Palestrina,   a   boy  of 
fifteen,  named  Agapetus,  was  taken  and  brought 
|{  before  the  governor  Antiochus,  in  the  reign  of 
Aurelian. 

He  was  beaten  severely,  and  then  thrust  into  a  dark  and 
loathsome  dungeon,  where  he  was  left  without  food,  or  water, 
or  light  for  four  days.  He  was  then  drawn  forth  sick,  faint, 
dazzled  by  the  glare  of  the  sun,  before  Antiochus ;  when 
asked  if  he  would  sacrifice,  he  shook  his  head.  Red  hot 
coals  were  poured  over  his  head  and  bare  shoulders ;  he  was 
then  suspended  by  his  feet,  head  downwards,  over  smoke, 
and  beaten.  When  nearly  unconscious,  he  was  laid  on  the 
ground,  and  boiling  water  poured  over  his  breast  and  belly, 
his  jaw  was  broken  with  a  stone,  but  still  he  lived. 

Antiochus  the  governor  fell  off  his  throne  in  a  fit,  and 
died.  News  was  taken  to  Aurelian,  who  ordered  Agapetus 
to  be  cast  to  lions  in  the  amphitheatre,  but  the  lions  refused 
to  touch  him,  crouching  at  his  feet,  and  licking  them.     He 


* 


*^ ^ 

August  t8.]  ^'  Agapehis.  163 

was  therefore  taken  away  to  where  stand  two  columns  out- 
side the  gate  of  Praeneste,  and  then  his  head  was  struck  off. 

It  is  in  favour  of  the  story,  that  Varius  Antiochianus  was 
prefect  of  Rome  in  272,  he  had  been  consul  in  270.  It  is 
also  true  that  a  persecution  did  break  out  under  Aurelian, 
though  it  did  not  last  long.  But  the  greater  part  of  the 
story  is  nevertheless  fabulous.  That  Agapetus  was  a  boy 
brought  before  Varius  Antiochianus,  that  he  was  scourged,  im- 
prisoned and  decapitated,  is  all  that  can  be  admitted  as  pro- 
bable. Late  Acts  of  the  Martyrs  are  always  stuffed  with 
tortures,  exposure  to  fire,  water,  lions,  none  of  which  hurt, 
and  all  end  with  the  martyrs  losing  their  heads ;  when  every- 
thing else  fails,  cold  steel  succeeds.  In  such  cases  we  may 
be  generally  sure  that  the  preceding  narratives  of  tortures 
and  miraculous  recovery  from  them  are  pure  inventions. 

The  body  of  S.  Agapetus  is  shown  in  the  church  bearing 
his  name  at  Palestrina,  entire.  Another  entire  body  in  the 
church  of  S.  Trypho  at  Rome,  another  in  the  cathedral  at 
Parma,  another  in  the  church  of  S.  Stephen  at  Milan, 
another  under  the  high  altar  of  S.  Maria  de  Consolatione 
at  Rome,  but  this  most  probably  is  the  body  of  S.  Agapetus, 
martyr  with  S.  Sixtus,  and  S.  Felicissimus.  Another  body 
of  S.  Agapetus,  given  by  Pope  Innocent  X  to  the  convent 
of  S.  Agnes  at  Bologna ;  an  arm  at  S.  Gereon's,  Cologne, 
but  this  may  have  belonged  to  the  martyr  of  the  same  name 
who  suffered  with  S.  Sixtus,  Other  relics  at  Liesse  in  Aisne 
near  Avenne,  brought  from  Constantinople  in  1208,  others 
at  Cremsmiinster  in  Austria,  apparently  the  entire  body, 
which,  it  is  pretended,  was  given  by  Pope  Adrian  I.  A 
head  of  S.  Agapetus  at  Besangon.  These  various  bodies 
probably  belong  to  martyrs  of  the  same  name,  whose  Acts 
have  been  lost.     The  name  is  not  an  uncommon  one. 


II — a 


*- 


-►< 


164  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  is. 


S.  HELENA,  EMPSS. 
(about  a.d.  328.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Not  in  the  Sarum  or  York,  or  the  Scottish 
Kalendars,  nor  found  in  any  early  Welsh  lists  of  Saints,  nor  in  ancient 
Latin  Martyrologies.  By  the  Greeks  on  May  21.  The  Authorities  for 
the  life  of  S.  Helena  are  mentioned  in  the  text.] 

Much  uncertainty  prevails  relative  to  the  place  of  birth  of 
S.  Helena,  and  her  condition  in  life  previous  to  her  mar- 
riage. In  A.D.  306  Constantine  the  Great  vi^as  proclaimed 
Emperor  of  Rome,  upon  the  death  of  his  father  Constantius 
Chlorus,  an  event  which  took  place  in  Britain.  "  O  fortu- 
nate Britain,  and  now  happier  than  all  countries,  which  hast 
first  seen  Constantine  made  Caesar !"  exclaimed  Eumenius 
the  Rhetorician  3  and  another  panegyrist,  "  He  (thy  father 
Constantius)  delivered  Britain  from  bondage,  but  thou  by 
arising  from  thence  hast  made  it  illustrious."*  These  pas- 
sages mean  no  more  than  that  Constantine  made  Britain 
glorious  by  his  accession  there  to  the  title  of  Csesar,  to  a 
share  in  the  Imperial  Government. 

On  the  strength  of  this,  the  Armenian  Chronicle,  or 
Chronicle  of  Mont  S.  Michel  (a.d.  1056),  gave  forth  to  the 
world  the  story  that  Constantine  was  born  in  Britain,  and 
that  his  mother  Helena  was  a  daughter  of  Coel,  a  British 
king. 

Such  a  story  was  too  flattering  to  native  pride  not  to  be 
eagerly  seized  upon  and  amplified.  Henry  of  Huntingdon 
(a.d.  1 154)  says  that  "Helena,  a  noble  child  of  Britain,  is 
said  to  have  surrounded  London  with  the  wall  still  standing, 
and  to  have  fortified  Colchester."  And  he  adds  that  she 
was  "the  daughter  of  the  British  King  of  Colchester,  named 

*  "Tu  enim  nobilis  illic  oriendo  fecisti."  Eumenius  describes  the  accession  of 
Constantius  in  similar  terms.  "  Oriendo  "  applies  to  the  accession  to  the  empire,  not 
to  birth. 


-* 


S.   HELENA.      After  Holbein. 


Aug.,  p.  164.] 


[Aug.  18, 


August  i8.] 


iS*.  Helena. 


165 


Coel."  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  tells  the  story  thus — "  Coel, 
duke  of  Kaer  Colvin,  or  Colchester,  made  an  insurrection 
against  King  Asclepiodotus,  and  in  a  pitched  battlekilled  him, 
and  took  possession  of  his  crown.  The  senate,  hearing  this, 
sent  Constantius  the  Senator,  who  had  reduced  Spain  under 
their  subjection.  Coel,  hearing  of  his  coming,  was  afraid  to 
engage  in  battle.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  Constantius  was 
arrived  in  the  island,  Coel  sent  ambassadors  to  him  with 
offers  of  peace  and  submission,  on  condition  that  he  should 
enjoy  the  kingdom  of  Britain,  and  pay  no  more  than  the 
usual  tribute  to  Rome.  Constantius  agreed  to  this  proposal, 
and  after  exchange  of  hostages,  peace  was  confirmed  be- 
tween them.  The  following  month  Coel  was  seized  with  a 
sore  sickness,  of  which  he  died  within  eight  days.  After  his 
decease,  Constantius  was  crowned,  and  married  the  daughter 
of  Coel,  whose  name  was  Helena.  She  surpassed  all  the 
ladies  of  the  country  in  beauty,  as  she  did  all  others  of  the 
time  in  her  skill  in  music  and  the  liberal  arts.  Her  father 
had  no  other  issue  to  succeed  him  on  the  throne ;  for  this 
reason  he  was  very  careful  about  her  education,  that  she 
might  be  better  qualified  to  govern  the  kingdom.  Constan- 
tius, thereiore,  having  made  her  his  partner,  had  a  son  by 
her  called  Constantine.  After  eleven  years  were  expired, 
he  died  at  York,  and  bestowed  the  kingdom  on  his 
son."' 

It  is  unnecessary  to  quote  Richard  of  Cirencester,  as  his 
Itinerary,  in  which  he  speaks  of  S.  Helena,  is  probably  a 
forgery  by  C.  J.  Bertram. 

The  King  Coel  of  Colchester,  the  father  of  Helena, 
according  to  the  story,  is  the  famous  monarch  of  nursery 
rhyme,  addicted  to  his  glass  and  pipe  and  the  society  of  his 
fiddlers. 

The  story  of  the    origin  of   Helena,  and  the  birth  of 

1  Geofi.  Mon.,  t.  6. 


•i* 

1 66  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  is. 

Constantine  in  Britain,  must  be  abandoned  as  a  fable. 
It  cannot  be  made  to  accord  with  known  dates  and  facts. 

Constantius  Chlorus  visited  Britain  for  the  first  time  in 
A.D.  296.  He  had  divorced  Helena,  in  order  to  marry  the 
step-daughter  of  Maximian,  on  his  elevation  to  be  Caesar  in 
A.D.  286,  just  ten  years  before  he  visited  Britain. 

It  is,  therefore,  very  clear  that  Helena  was  not  a  British 
princess,  and  that  Constantine  could  not  have  been  bom  in 
Britain. 

Eutropius,  a  contemporary,  wliose  compendium  of 
Roman  history  is  carried  down  to  a.d.  364  (the  probable 
date  of  his  death),  says  plainly  that  Constantine  was  the 
son  of  Constantius,  by  an  "  obscure  marriage."^ 

Zosimus,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  younger  Theodo- 
sius,  says  "  Constantine  was  born  of  a  woman  not  by  legiti- 
mate birth,  for  she  was  not  lawfully  married  to  Constantius," 
The  Chronicon  Alexandrinum  says,  "  Constantius  died ; 
he  was  succeeded  by  Constantine,  his  illegitimate  son  by 
Helena." 

The  chronicle  of  Eusebius,  the  panegyrist  of  Constantine, 
and  his  contemporary,  says  also  plainly,  "  Constantine  was 
born  of  the  concubine  Helen." 

Bede  also  says  that  Helena  was  the  concubine  of  Con- 
stantius. In  the  "  Excerpta  de  Constantio  Chloro  et  Con- 
stantino Magno,"  published  at  the  end  of  Ammianus  Mar- 
cellinus,  by  Gronovius,  which  are  generally  accurate  and 
founded  on  the  best  authorities,  we  read,  "  Constantine 
was  born  of  Helena  his  mother,  of  vilest  birth  in  the  city  of 
Naisus."" 

S.  Ambrose,  in  his  oration  on  the  death  of  Theodosius 
(a.d.  395)  some  sixty-seven  years  after  the  death  of  Helena, 
says,  "  She  is   said  to  have  been  a  hostleress  (stabularia), 

'  "  Ex  obscuriori  matrimonio  ejus  filius." 
•  "  Constantius  natus  Helena  matre  vilissima  in  oppido  Naiso." 

r», — — »ti 


August  18.] 


5".  Helena. 


167 


and  thus  to  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Constantius  the 
elder.  A  good  hostleress,  who  so  devotedly  sought  the 
manger  of  the  Lord  !  A  good  hostleress,  who  remembered 
Him  who  healed  the  wounds  of  him  who  was  wounded  of 
robbers  !  A  good  hostleress,  who  loved  to  be  counted  as 
dung  that  she  might  win  Christ !  Therefore  Christ  raised 
her  from  the  dung-heap  to  the  kingdom." 

That  Helena  was  a  native  of  Drepanum,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Nicomedia,  hardly  admits  of  doubt.  It  was  because 
Drepanum  was  the  birthplace  of  his  mother  that  Constan- 
tine  changed  its  name  to  HelenopoUs.* 

It  is  probable  that  Constantius  made  acquaintance  with 
her  on  his  return  from  the  Persian  embassy  in  the  reign  of 
Aurelian,  and  he  may  have  persuaded  her  to  accompany 
him  thence,  either  as  his  concubine  or  as  his  wife. 

That  she  was  a  concubine  only  is  doubtful;  as  had  she  been 
such  Diocletian  would  not  have  insisted  on  a  divorce  when 
Constantius  married  Theodora. 

Eutychius  ot  Alexandria  {d.  940),  probably  from  tradition, 
says  that  "  Constantius  having  gone  into  the  parts  of  Mesopo- 
tamia and  Rhoje,  whilst  tarrying  at  the  city  of  Rohar  Caphar 
Phacar,  saw  there  a  pretty,  handsome  woman,  named 
Helena,  who  had  been  converted  by  Barsicas,  Bishop  of 
Rhose,  to  the  Christian  faith,  but  who  could  not  read.  He 
asked  the  maiden  in  marriage  of  her  father,  and  she  became 
pregnant  by  him.  Constantius  having  returned  to  Byzan- 
tium, Helena  gave  birth  to  a  beautiful  son,  gentle  and 
intelligent — Constantine  ;  and  he  was  brought  up  at  Rhoae, 
and  learned  the  sciences  of  the  Greeks."* 

This  statement  is  perhaps  founded  on  an  obscure  tradi- 
tion that  the  connexion  between  Constantius  and  Helena 
began  either   on   his  way  out  to  Persia  or  on  his  return 


'  Procop.  Cses.,  De  aedificiis  Justiniani,  v.  2;  Niceph.  Callist.,  vii.  49. 
»  Ed.  Pocock,  T.  I.  p.  408. 


1 6  8  L  ives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  i8. 


There  was  a  Bishop  of  Edessa  in  Osrhoene  named  Barses, 
between  a.d.  361—378,  so  that  the  statement  exhibits  an 
apparent  anachronism. 

Not  only  do  EngHsh  mediaeval  historians  claim  S.  Helena 
as  a  native  of  Britain,  but  so  also  does  the  tradition  of  the 
Church  of  Treves  assert  her  to  have  been  born  in  that  ancient 
city,  the  capital  of  Belgic  Gaul.  It  is  as  worthless  as  the 
tradition  that  she  was  daughter  of  King  Coel  of  Colchester. 

The  Cathedral  at  Treves  is  said  to  have  been  the  palace 
of  S.  Helena,  given  by  Constantine  to  the  Church.  It  was 
certainly  a  Roman  palace,  consisting  of  an  open  atrium,  a 
peristyle,  and  a  tablinum.  The  atrium  was  roofed  over  in 
the  nth  century,  the  peristyle  lengthened  into  a  nave,  and 
the  tablinum  enlarged  into  a  choir ;  traces  of  the  early  con- 
struction remain.  But  that  it  v.-as  the  palace  of  Helena  and 
Constantius  is  not  easy  of  proof  It  was  in  A.D.  292  that 
Constantius  was  nominated  Caesar,  and  Governor  of  Gaul, 
and  therefore  then  probably  took  up  his  residence  in  Treves. 
That  same  year  he  repudiated  Helena  and  married  Theo- 
dora. It  is  scarcely  possible  that  Helena  should  have  fol- 
lowed Constantius  and  his  new  wife  to  Treves.  Constan- 
tine was  aged  about  eighteen  when  his  father  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Caesar,  and  his  mother  was  divorced.  He 
did  not  then  follow  his  father,  but  remained  in  the  service  of 
Diocletian,  signalized  his  valour  in  the  wars  of  Egypt 
and  Persia,  and  gradually  rose  to  the  honourable  station  of 
a  tribune  of  the  first  order.  The  favour  of  the  people  and 
soldiers,  who  had  named  him  as  a  worthy  candidate  for  the 
rank  of  Caesar,  served  to  exasperate  the  jealousy  of  Galerius. 
His  danger,  and  the  anxiety  of  his  father  increased  ;  Con- 
stantius wrote  to  him  repeated  letters,  expressing  the  warm- 
est desire  to  embrace  his  son  in  a  place  of  security.  By  a 
timely  flight  from  Nicomedia  in  the  night,  by  rapidly  travers- 
ing Bithynia,  Thrace,  Dacia,  Pannonia,  Italy  and  Gaul,  Con- 


-^ 


August  i8.] 


S.  Helena. 


169 


stantine  escaped  the  secret  assassination  prepared  for  him 
by  Galerius  ;  and  reached  the  port  of  Boulogne,  at  the 
very  moment  when  his  father  was  preparing  to  embark  for 
Britain,  a.d.  304.  Constantine  was  twenty-two  years  old 
when  his  father  sailed  to  Britain  to  meet — so  runs  the  fable 
— the  jovial  King  Coel,  and  see  and  love  his  beautiful 
daughter  Helena.  Constantius  died  at  York,  fifteen  months 
after  he  had  received  the  title  of  Augustus,  and  almost  four- 
teen years  and  a  half  after  he  had  been  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  Caesar.  His  death  was  immediately  succeeded  by 
the  elevation  of  Constantine  (a.d.  306),  who  remained  in 
Britain  six  years. 

It  is  most  probable  that  Helena  remained  at  Drepanum 
in  Bithynia,  her  native  place,  whilst  Constantine  was  at 
Nicomedia ;  the  son  may  have,  and  probably  did,  resent  the 
divorce  of  his  mother,  and  for  this  cause  did  not  follow  his 
father  into  Gaul.  His  mother,  to  whom  he  always  showed 
a  warm  attachment,  would  probably  reside  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. She  could  not  have  accompanied  him  in  his  rapid 
flight  from  Nicomedia,  but,  perhaps,  as  soon  as  he  was 
Caesar,  he  sent  for  her  to  Britain,  or  to  Treves.  He  visited 
Treves  in  306,  and  exhibited  in  the  amphitheatre  a  horrible 
spectacle,  the  massacre  of  many  thousand  unarmed  Franks. 

It  was  between  306 — 313  that  S.  Helena  must  have  lived 
at  Treves,  and  thus  have  given  rise  to  the  tradition  of  her 
ha\dng  been  bom  there.  She  was  not  at  that  time  a  Chris- 
tian, nor  did  she  believe  till  after  the  conversion  of  her  son, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  Eusebius.^ 

The  conversion  of  Constantine  took  place  a.d.  312,  and 
S.  Helena  must  have  been  about  sixty-four  years  old  when 
she  embraced  Christianity. 

The  first  \A{q  of  Constantine  was  Minervina ;  by  her  he 
had  an  only  son,   named  Crispus.     He  afterwards  married 

*  Vit  Constant.,  iii.  47. 


I70  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  is. 

Fausta,  daughter  of  Maximian,  who  became  the  mother  of 
Constantius  and  other  children. 

The  jealous  Constantine  suspected  that  his  son  was  medi- 
tating revolt ;  perhaps  Fausta  encouraged  him  in  this  belief. 
In  326  he  ordered  the  execution  of  his  son.  Then,  finding 
out  that  he  had  been  mistaken,  and  that  the  youth  was 
innocent,  he  had  Fausta  his  wife  suffocated  in  her  bath. 

The  aged  Helena  is  said  to  have  unwittingly  incited  the 
Emperor  to  this  second  atrocious  crime,  by  her  laments  over 
the  murdered  Crispus,  and  her  reproaches  for  his  culpable 
credulity.^ 

To  expiate  the  crimes  wherewith  her  son  was  stained, 
the  aged  Helena,  in  325,  in  about  her  seventy-seventh  year, 
went  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  to  visit  the  places  made 
sacred  by  the  footsteps  of  the  Saviour.  She  erected  two 
churches — one  at  Bethlehem,  another  on  the  Mount  of  the 
Ascension,  and  the  Emperor  richly  endowed  both  these 
churches.  The  grave  of  Christ,  Constantine  cleaned  out 
of  all  the  earth  and  rubbish  which  had  gradually  accumu- 
lated in  it. 

That  S.  Helena  dug  on  Calvary  and  found  the  true  Cross 
is  a  matter  of  tradition  dating  from  the  time  of  S.  Ambrose, 
but  it  was  unknown  to  Eusebius,  who  was  a  contemporary,' 
and  the  Cross  had  not  been  found  in  a.d.  333,  when  the  Bor- 
deaux Itinerary  of  the  Holy  Land  was  composed.  For 
further  particulars  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  article  on 
the  "  Invention  of  the  Cross "  (May  3,  p.  56).  In  her 
eightieth  year  Helena  died,  having  first  made  her  will,  and 
constituted  her  son  heir  to  all  she  possessed,  along  with  her 
grandsons.     She  died   holding   the  hand   of  Constantius. 

1  Sext.   Aurel.  Victor.     "Constantinus    Fausta  conjuge,    ut  putant,  suggerente, 
Crispum  filium  necari  jubet.      Dehinc  uxorera  suam  Faustam,  in  balneas  ardentes 
conjectam,     interemit ;   cum   eum    mater     Helena    dolore    nimio   ncpotis    mortem 
increparet."    Zosimus  says  he  murdered  Fausta  to  "console  his  mother  Helena." 
•  Euseb.  Vit.  Const.,  iii.  42. 


►  4- 


August  18.] 


S.  Helena. 


171 


The  body  was  brought  with  great  pomp  to  Constantinople,* 
and  was  buried  there  with  splendour  in  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Apostles,  lately  erected  in  his  new  capital  by  Con- 
stantine.  But  this  is  not  certain.  By  some  it  is  supposed 
that  she  died  near  Rome,  and  was  buried  there. 

Among  the  relics  of  S.  Helena  are  a  head  at  Treves,  some 
bones  in  the  Vatican,  and  others  at  Lisbon;  others  at 
Altrelle,  near  Reims. 

The  bodies  of  Caspar,  Melchior,  and  Balthazar,  now 
shown  at  Cologne,  it  is  pretended  were  brought  from  the 
East  by  S.  Helena,  and  given  to  the  cathedral  of  Milan, 
whence  they  were  taken  by  Frederick  II.  She  also  is  said 
to  have  given  the  Holy  Coat,  the  seamless  robe  of  Christ, 
to  the  Cathedral  of  Treves.  Several  churches  claim  to  have 
had  S.  Helena  as  their  foundress,  such  as  Treves,  Bonn,  and 
Reims. 

S.  Helena  is  the  subject  of  several  romances.  The  legend 
of  the  Jew  Cyriacus,  or  the  Finding  of  the  Cross,  is  one. 
Another  is  the  mediaeval  tale  of  "  La  Belle  Helene  de  Con- 
stantinople," in  which  the  legend  is  transformed  into  pure 
romance.  An  outline  of  the  story  will  suffice  to  give  an 
idea  of  its  contents. 

King  Antony  of  Constantinople  wished  to  marry  his  own 
daughter,  the  beautiful  Helen ;  but  she  ran  away  at  night 
hearing  that  the  Pope,  her  uncle,  had  granted  a  dispensation 
to  permit  the  marriage,  "because  he  wanted  help  against  the 
Saracens."  She  got  into  a  boat  alone,  and  the  wind  bore 
her  away  to  Ecluse,  in  Flanders,  but  that  country  was  then  in 
the  hands  of  the  Saracens,  under  King  Cantebron,  who, 
when  he  saw  her,  fell  in  love  with  her,  and  she  fled  away 
again.  Her  boat  was  broken,  only  one  plank  remained,  she 
stepped  thereon  and  was  wafted  to  London.  And  when  she 
reached  London,  she  went  into  an  orchard  by  a  fountain 

1  "  To  the  royal  city,"  certainly  Constantinople,  not  Rome. 


►  A- 


172  Lives  of  the  Saints.  (August  is. 


and  sat  down.  Now  King  Henry  was  then  reigning  along 
with  his  mother,  in  England  5  and  he  came  into  the  orchard 
and  saw  fair  Helen  there,  dressed  in  cloth  of  gold,  under 
an  apple  tree ;  but  when  he  spoke  to  her  she  fainted  away. 
So  he  bade  his  almoner  run  and  bring  bread  and  wine  ;  and 
he  went  and  brought  them.  Then  the  king  made  sops  and 
put  them  into  fair  Helen's  mouth,  and  presently  her  great 
blue  eyes  opened.  Then  said  the  king,  "  Lady,  you  have 
spoiled  your  fair  dress!"  "Sire!"  answered  she,  "my 
boat  fell  among  pirates,  and  all  perished  but  I,  and  I  came 
drifting  over  the  sea  on  one  plank." 

And  when  the  king  saw  how  beautiful  she  was,  he  com- 
mended her  to  his  mother,  who  took  care  of  her.  But 
many  a  bright  day  they  walked  together  in  the  orchard  of 
red  apples. 

One  day  the  king  said  to  her,  "Lady,  you  are  surely 
sf  noble  race ;  tell  me  your  story  and  I  will  make  you  my 
wife." 

But  she  said,  "  Sire,  I  am  a  poor  girl  without  a  denier." 

Then  the  king  held  out  his  hand,  and  raised  her  from  the 
grass  where  she  was  sitting,  and  said,  "  Lady,  I  have  got 
money  enough  for  both  of  us." 

But  when  the  queen-mother  heard  of  this,  she  was  full  of 
wrath,  and  meditated  treason.  But  the  king  called  all  his 
nobles  together,  and  they  spread  a  rich  carpet,  and  drank 
wine,  and  made  good  cheer,  and  he  held  his  wedding  feast, 
and  for  two  years  they  lived  together  in  great  love,  and  had 
two  sons — S.  Martin  and  S.  Brice. 

•  Now  Buthor  of  Armenia  laid  siege  to  Rome  ;  so  Pope 
Clement  sent  and  called  the  King  of  England  to  his  aid. 
And  Henry  bade  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  take  the  regency, 
and  he  bade  farewell  to  Helen,  and  went  his  way  to  Rome. 

Now,  before  he  went,  he  gave  to  Helen  his  royal  seal. 
And  after  he  was  departed,  Helen  was  left  alone  in  the  city 


-►i 


->4 


August  i8.] 


S.  Helena. 


173 


of  London,  and  the  queen-mother  often  came  from  Dover 
and  dined  with  the  Queen  Helen  and  Mary  Countess  of 
Gloucester.  And  after  dinner  one  day  the  ladies  went  out 
into  the  garden  to  play,  and  left  Helen  alone  with  the 
queen  mother ;  and  Helen's  eyes  were  heavy.  Then  said 
the  queen-mother,  "  Lay  thy  head  on  my  lap  !  "  So  Helen 
laid  her  fair  head  on  the  old  woman's  lap,  and  went  to 
sleep.  Then  the  queen-mother  stole  the  royal  seal,  and 
went  her  way.  Now,  after  a  while  the  fair  Helen  was 
brought  to  bed  of  two  lovely  babes.  Then  the  Earl  of 
Gloucester  wrote  a  letter  to  King  Henry  to  apprize  him 
thereof.  But  as  the  messenger  tarried  for  a  boat  at  Dover, 
the  queen-mother  got  possession  of  this  letter,  opened  it 
and  wrote  a  letter  to  say  that  Helen  had  become  the  mother 
of  two  black  doggies.  And  she  sealed  it  with  the  royal 
signet,  and  the  messenger  went  his  way,  and  wot  not  that 
the  letter  had  been  changed. 

Now,  when  King  Henry  read  the  letter,  he  was  grieved  to 
the  heart,  so  he  went  to  the  Pope  and  told  him  all  the  story 
of  how  he  had  met  Helen  first  in  an  orchard  by  a  well,  and 
had  married  her.  Then  said  Clement  the  Pope,  "  I  trust 
me  that  this  is  my  niece,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Con- 
stantinople." Now,  when  King  Henry  heard  this,  he  was  as 
glad  as  if  he  had  received  the  revenues  of  two  kingdoms, 
yet  withal,  when  he  thought  of  the  two  black  dogs,  he  was 
sad.  He  wrote  letters  back,  but  they  were  taken  by  the 
queen-mother  at  Dover,  and  for  them  was  substituted  an 
order  that  Helen  and  her  two  children  were  incontinently  to 
be  burned  alive. 

Now,  when  the  letter  reached  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  and 
Queen  Helen,  great  was  their  dismay.  The  Earl  dared 
not  disobey  the  orders;  but  his  niece  Mary  fell  on  her 
knees  and  prayed  him,  saying,  "  Let  me  be  burned  instead 
of  my  queen,  and  I  will  hold  two  puppets  of  linen  in  my 


*- 


174  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  is. 

arms  for  the  babes."  And  the  Earl  said,  "  But  I  must  give 
evidence  to  the  king  that  his  wife  is  destroyed."  Then  he 
bethought  him  and  went  to  the  queen,  and  said,  "What 
token  shall  I  bear  to  my  lord  that  I  have  fulfilled* his 
orders  ? "  And  she  held  out  her  finger  with  the  wedding 
ring  on  it,  and  said,  "  Cut  this  off.  With  this  ring  he  made 
me  his,  and  he  will  know  it  again."  So  he  cut  off"  her  finger 
with  the  ring  upon  it.  And  on  the  morrow  Mary  of  Glou- 
cester was  burned  in  the  room  of  Helen. 

But  the  poor  queen  fled  away  into  Brittany  with  her 
babes. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  all  her  adventures  and  those 
of  the  children.  King  Constantine  is  introduced, — he  is 
Prince  of  Bordeaux,  he  goes  to  Palestine,  and  runs  away 
with  Placentia  the  wife  of  King  Priam,  after  having  first 
baptized  her.  The  story  of  course  ends  with  the  joyful 
reunion  of  Helen  and  King  Henry  and  their  children,  the 
finger  of  Helen  is  replaced  and  healed  by  her  son,  S. 
Martin ;  and  the  wicked  queen-mother  is  burnt  alive.* 

'  For  the  whole  legend,  see  Migne's  Diet,  des  Legendes  Chretiennes,  p.  523 — 576. 
For  the  bibliography  of  it,  Grasse  :  Literargeschicht  aller  bekannten  Volker,  II.  Abt.  3, 
H.  I,  p.  284.  The  story  occurs  in  Matthew  Paris,  Hist.  Maj.,  told  of  a  daughter 
of  Offa,  King  of  Mercia.  It  was  versified  in  the  13th  cent,  by  the  Trouvere  Philip 
of  Reims. 


-* 


►  ■<- 


August  19.] 


S.  Julius. 


175 


August  19. 

S.  Julius,  M.  at  Rome  ;  a.d.  192. 

S.  Magnus,  B.  M.  in  Italy;  a.d.  250. 

S.  Magnus,  M.  in  Cappadocia;  circ.  a.d.  272. 

S.  Andrew  the  Tribune,  M.  in  Cilicia;  circ.  a.d.  303. 

SS.  Timothy,  Thecla,  and  Agapius,  MM.  in  Paiesiine;  a.ix 

304  and  306. 
The  Apparition  of  the  Cross  to  Constantine  ;  a.u.  313. 
S.  Cledog,  h.M.  in  Brecknock ;  circ.  A.D.  482. 
S.  Mochteus,  B.  0/ Louth;  a.d.  535. 
S.  Bertulf,  Ab.  of  Bobbio,  in  Italy;  a.d.  640. 
S.  Magnus,  B.  of  Avignon;  a.d.  660 
S.  Sebaldus,  H.  at  Niirtiberg;  St/t  cent 
S.  Louis,  B.  0/ Toulouse  ;  a.d.  1297. 


S.    JULIUS,    M. 
(a.d.  192.) 

[Roman  Martyrology ;  the  Martyrologium  parvum,  Ado,  Usuardus,  &c. 
Authority  :— Mentioned  in  the  Martyrologies,  and  the  legendary  Acts  in 
Vincent  of  Beauvais.] 

AINT  JULIUS,  a  Roman  senator,  suffered  in 
the  reign  of  Commodus,  having  been  sentenced 
to  death  by  the  judge  ViteUius.  He  had  received 
Christian  instruction  from  SS.  Eusebius,  Vin- 
centius,  Peregrinus,  and  Pontianus,  through  whose  hands 
he  distributed  his  goods  to  the  poor.  He  was  beaten  to 
death  with  cudgels. 


* 


->i' 


1 76  Lives  of  the  Samts.  f^ugust  x^. 


S.  MAGNUS,  B.M. 
(a.d.  250.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  The  greatest  discrepancy  exists  in  the  Martyrologies 

touching  this  saint.] 

It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  S.  Magnus,  Bishop  and 
Martyr,  has  been  manufactured  by  the  blunders  of  mar- 
tyrologists.  S.  Andrew  the  Tribune  is  commemorated  in 
the  Greek  Mensas  as  "  Megalomarturos ;"  in  Latin, 
"  Magnus  Martyr." 

In  the  early  Latin  lists,  on  August  19,  was  accordingly 
inscribed  "Andreas  Tribunus,  Magnus  Martyr."  This 
was  read  as  if  there  were  two  Saints,  Andrew  the  Tribune, 
and  Magnus  the  Martyr. 

But  the  martyrologists  did  not  fall  into  this  error  altogether 
at  first.  The  author  of  an  ancient  Roman  Martyrology 
published  by  Rosweydus,  and  Usuardus  have  the  following 
entry :  "  The  nativity  of  S.  Magnus  or  S.  Andrew  the 
Martyr,  with  his  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
companions."*  Later  martyrologists  distinguish  Magnus 
from  Andrew ;  the  next  process  was  to  give  Magnus  a 
different  scene  of  martyrdom  from  Andrew,  and  different 
torments.  In  the  modern  Roman  Martyrology  Magnus  is 
converted  into  a  bishop,  still  further  to  distinguish  him  from 
Andrew,  and  he  is  made  to  suffer  some  fifty  years  before 
Andrew;  his  body  has  also  been  found  at  Fundana,  and 
translated  to  Anagni.  A  body  of  S.  Magnus  translated  to 
Rome,  is  in  the  church  of  S.  Michael,  but  this  is  said 
by  some  to  be  that  of  Magnus,  a  Friesland  duke,  who  fell 
in  Italy  fighting  against  the  Saracens.  The  church  of 
Laeken,  near  Brussels,  claims  the  possession  of  an  arm, 

1  The  Martyrology  of  S.  Jerome.    "  Natalis  S.  Magni  seu  S.  Andrea;  martyris ;"  a 
Corbel  Martyrology  the  same. 


►  1- 


August  19.) 


.S*.  Andrew  the  Tribune. 


177 


-*< 


and  a  large  portion  of  the  body  is  at  Minden,  The  Acts 
are  apocryphal ;  so  also  are  those  of  S.  Magnus  Martyr  at 
Cassarea  in  Cappadocia ;  both  these  saints  have  issued  from 
the  same  mistake  of  taking  the  attribute  of  S.  Andrew  the 
Tribune  as  an  independent  saint,  and  varying  the  incidents 
of  martyrdom  at  pleasure.^ 


S.  ANDREW  THE  TRIBUNE,  M, 
(about  a.d.  303.) 

[Greek  Menaea  and  Menology,  Russian  and  Coptic  Kalendars.  Thfl 
Roman  and  ancient  Latin  Martyrologies.  Authority:  —  The  Acts,  late, 
amplified  and  re-written  in  bombastic  style,  probably  by  Metaphrastes.  The 
mention  in  the  Martyrologies,  being  more  ancient,  is  more  trustworthy.] 

In  the  reign  of  Maximian,  persecution  was  waged  against 
the  soldiers  who  would  not  sacrifice  to  the  Genius  of  the 
Emperor.  At  first,  as  Eusebius  tells  us,  they  were  given 
the  option  to  conform  to  the  established  superstition  or  to 
leave  the  army.  "  When  the  general,  whoever  he  was,  first 
undertook  the  persecution  against  the  soldiers,  he  began  by 
a  review  and  lustration  of  those  that  were  enrolled  in  the 
army,  and  gave  them  their  choice,  either  to  enjoy  the 
honour  conferred  on  them  if  they  obeyed,  or  to  be  deprived 
of  this  if  they  proved  disobedient.  Very  many  soldiers  in 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  without  hesitation,  preferred  the 
confession  of  His  name  to  the  apparent  glory  and  comfort 
that  they  enjoyed,  and  of  these  a  few  here  and  there 
exchanged  their  honours,  not  only  for  degradation,  but  even 

'  As  the  notice  of  Galesinius,  "  Oesarea,  sanctorum  martyrum  Magni,  Andrese  et 
Sociorum,  qui  bis  mille  quingenti  et  nonaginta  septem,  cum  leonem  conspexissent  in 
homines  a  fide  alienos  savientem  ad  beati  martyris  IMagni  pedes  mansuetum  jacere  ; 
ad  Christi  fidem  se  contulerunt.  Quamobrem  Alexandri  praesidis  jussu  capite 
plectuntur.     Magnus  vero  lapidibus  ubiuitur." 

VOL.  IX.  12 


* 


1 78  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  19. 


for  death,  on  account  of  their  perseverance  in  religion. 
These  last  were  not,  however,  as  yet  numerous,  as  the  great 
instigator  of  these  violent  measures  proceeded  at  first  with 
moderation,  venturing  only  to  shed  the  blood  of  a  few.  The 
great  numbers  of  the  faithful,  probably,  deterred  him,  and 
made  him  shrink  from  a  general  attack  upon  all ;  but  when 
once  he  began  to  arm  openly,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how 
many  or  how  eminent  were  those  who  presented  themselves 
in  every  place  and  city  and  country,  as  martyrs  in  the  cause 
of  Christ." ' 

Andrew  was  a  tribune  in  the  army  sent  against  the 
Persians.  After  a  victory,  the  general,  Antiochus,  reviewed 
his  troops  and  ordered  a  sacrifice  to  the  immortal  gods.  As 
Andrew  and  some  of  the  soldiers  refused  to  participate  in 
the  ceremonial,  the  general  ordered  their  hands  to  be 
transfixed  with  nails,  and  their  heads  to  be  struck  off". 

The  number  of  the  comrades  of  S.  Andrew  has  been 
exaggerated  by  Western  Martyrologists  into  two  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety-seven  men.  About  the  number  the 
Greek  Mensea  and  Menology  are  silent ;  these  two  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety-seven  have  also,  along  with  the  title 
of  the  Saint,  detached  themselves  from  him,  and  adhered 
together  as  separate  Saints,  S.  Magnus  and  his  Companions, 
Martyrs. 

>  Euseb.  H.  E.,  viiL  4. 


August  19.]  '^'^-  Timothy  and  others. 


179 


SS.  TIMOTHY,  THECLA,  AND  AGAPIUS,  MM. 

(a.D.   304  AND  306.) 

[Greek  Menasa  and  Menology,  Russian  Menology,  Roman  Martyrology. 
Authority  : — The  contemporary  account  of  Eusebius,  in  his  Martyrs  of 
Palestine,  c.  3  and  6.] 

Eusebius  says,  "  When  Urbanus  was  Governor  of  the 
Province  (of  Palestine),  in  the  second  year,  imperial  edicts 
were  first  issued  to  him,  in  which  it  was  ordered  that  all 
persons  in  every  city  should  sacrifice  and  make  libations  to 
the  idols.  Timothy  at  Gaza  endured  a  multitude  of  tortures, 
and  after  having  borne  them  all,  was  condemned  to  be 
consumed  by  a  slow  and  gentle  fire.  He  exhibited  in  all 
his  sufferings  the  most  indubitable  proof  of  his  sincere 
devotion  to  God,  and  thus  bore  away  the  crown  of  those 
holy  wrestlers  who  triumph  in  the  cause  of  religion. 

"  At  the  same  time  with  him  Agapius,  who  displayed  the 
noblest  firmness  in  his  confession,  and  Thecla,  our  con- 
temporary, were  condemned  to  be  cast  to  wild  beasts." 
Agapius,  however,  did  not  die  then ;  being  spared  by  the 
beasts,  he  was  taken  back  to  prison,  where  he  lingered  for 
two  more  years  till  the  Emperor  Maximian  came  to  Csesarea, 
when  he  was  brought  forth  for  martyrdom  in  the  arena. 
"After  having  been  paraded  with  malefactors,  from  the 
])rison  to  the  stadium,  already  a  third  time,  and  after  various 
threats  from  the  judges,  whether  through  compassion,  or  out 
of  hope  of  changing  his  purpose,  he  had  been  deferred 
from  time  to  time  for  other  contests ;  at  length,  when  the 
Emperor  was  present,  he  was  led  forth.  As  if  he  had  been 
designedly  reserved  for  this  time,  and  that,  also,  the  declara- 
tion of  our  Saviour  might  be  fulfilled,  when  He  said  that  His 
disciples  should  be  led  before  kings,  to  confess  Him,  he  was 
brought  into  the  stadium,  before  the  Emperor,  along  with  a 

12 — 2 


-* 


1 80  Lives  of  the  Saints,  ^August  19. 

criminal  charged  with  having  murdered  his  master.  The 
murderer,  when  cast  to  the  beasts,  was  treated  with 
clemency — as  Barabbas  was  treated  in  the  Saviour's  time; — 
the  theatre  resounded  with  applause,  and  the  bloodstained 
homicide  was  pardoned  by  the  Emperor  and  honoured  with 
liberty  and  promotion.  But  Agapius,  the  wrestler  for  the 
Faith,  was  first  summoned  before  the  tyrant,  and  required 
to  renounce  his  purpose,  liberty  being  offered  him  if  he 
would  do  so.  But  he  declared  with  a  loud  voice  his  glad 
readiness  to  suffer  whatever  might  be  inflicted  on  him,  and 
rushing  towards  a  bear  that  had  been  let  loose  on  him, 
readily  offered  himself  to  be  devoured.  Still  breathing  he 
was  taken  up,  and  carried  to  prison.  As  he  was  alive  next 
day,  stones  were  attached  to  his  feet,  and  he  was  plunged  in 
the  sea." 


THE  APPARITION  OF  THE  CROSS. 
(a.d.  312.) 

[Orleans  Breviary.  Authority : — Eusebiixs,  from  the  account  given  to 
him  by  Constantine  himself.] 

When  Constantine  was  resolving  on  a  struggle  with 
Maxentius,  he  one  day  saw,  above  the  brightness  of  the 
sun,  a  cross  of  wondrous  shape,  which  struck  him  with  awe. 
Around  it  he  thought  he  traced  the  legend  "  In  this  sign 
conquer."  The  sight  was  viewed  by  his  army  as  well  as 
himself ;  and  when,  before  the  batde  of  the  Milvian  bridge, 
which  decided  the  fate  of  the  world,  he  had  the  mysterious 
sign  set  up  on  his  standard  in  place  of  the  Roman  eagle,  it 
was  hailed  by  his  soldiers  as  a  symbol  of  divine  protection 
and  a  promise  of  victory.  The  vision  is  said  to  have  occurred 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Treves,  where  a  chapel,  supposed 


I 


*- 


August  19.] 


•5.  Cledog.  181 


to  occupy  the  spot,  commemorates  the  incident.  But 
Eusebius  does  not  mention  when  or  where  the  vision  took 
place,  though  the  words  he  employs  seem  to  indicate  that 
Constantine  saw  the  cross  in  the  sky  before  he  passed  the 
AIds. 


S.  CT.EDOG,  K.M. 
(about  a.d.  482.) 

[Wilson,  Capgrave,  and  Whitford  on  Nov.  3.  Cressy  says  that  he  is 
venerated  on  Aug.  19.  Whitford  perhaps  mistook  him  for  Clydwyn, 
venerated  on  Nov.  i.] 

Cledog,  or  Clydog,  was  a  grandson  of  the  famous  Brychan 
of  Brecknock,  a  member,  therefore,  of  a  family  of  saints. 
The  Cognacio  Brychani  and  Llewelyn  say  that  he  was  the 
son  of  S.  Clydwyn,  a  grandson  of  Brychan.  He  appears  to 
have  had  a  brother,  whom  different  MSS.  call  Dedyn  or 
Neubedd,  and  a  sister,  S.  Pedita.  His  beauty  caused  a 
young  girl  to  fall  passionately  in  love  with  him.  A  chief 
who  was  struck  with  her  beauty  was  met  with  the  cold  reply 
that  she  would  belong  to  none  but  Clydog.  Filled  with 
jealousy,  he  took  an  opportunity,  whilst  the  prince  was  out 
hunting,  to  run  his  sword  through  his  body.  The  place  of 
the  murder  was  Clodock  in  Herefordshire.  When  the  body 
was  found,  it  was  placed  on  a  cart  dra^vn  by  oxen,  but  as  the 
obstinate  beasts  refused  to  proceed,  it  was  supposed  that  the 
martyr  desired  to  lie  where  he  had  been  slain,  and  a  chapel 
was  erected  over  his  remains.  In  the  Latin  Martyrologies 
he  is  called  S.  Clintanc 


-* 


4< * 

1 82  Lives  of  the  Saints.  fAugust  ,5. 

S.  MOCHTEUS,  B.  OF  LOUTH. 
(a.d.  535-) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.    Authorities  : — Mention  in  the  lives  of  S.  Patrick, 
and  his  own  life,  a  late  composition.] 

MocHTEUs,  a  Briton,  the  son  of  a  bard  named  Hoa,  came 
with  his  parents  to  Ireland,  at  the  beginning  of  the  6th 
centur}'.  He  and  his  father  and  mother  were  Christians, 
and  they  gladly  hailed  S.  Patrick  as  an  apostle.  Mochteus 
was  sent  to  Rome,  where  he  collected  a  dozen  zealous  men 
to  come  out  to  Patrick,  to  assist  in  the  conversion  of 
Ireland.  He  settled  at  Louth,  where  he  was  speedily 
surrounded  by  disciples,  and  was  finally  perhaps  consecrated 
bishop.  The  tripartite  Life  calls  him  S.  Patrick's  arch-priest, 
and  in  the  book  of  Sligo  he  is  styled  simply  "  sacerdos." 
Yet,  the  Calendar  of  Cashel,  and  the  Donegal  ?^Iart}Tology, 
speak  of  him  as  a  bishop,  and  are  followed  by  the  Four 
Masters.  Adamnan,  however,  in  his  second  preface  to  the 
life  of  S.  Columba,  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  British  proselyte, 
a  holy  man,  the  disciple  of  S.  Patrick,  the  bishop."  It  is 
therefore  doubtful  if  he  ever  received  episcopal  orders. 
Had  he  so  done,  Adamnan  would  have  spoken  of  him  as  a 
bishop.  He  was  the  youngest  and  last  surviving  disciple  of 
S.  Patrick. 

The  hfe  of  the  saint,  a  late  composition,  is  a  collection  of 
marvels.  It  relates  how  as  a  child  he  learned  letters  from 
an  angel  who  brought  him  a  waxed  slate  for  the  purpose 
from  heaven.  This  slate  the  saint  afterwards  presented  to 
the  Pope.  Also  how,  when  he  sailed  with  his  disciples  for 
Ireland,  one  who  had  been  inadvertently  left  behind,  tore 
off  a  tree  bough  and  was  wafted  over  the  waters  on  the 
green  fronds,  to  the  retreating  ship  of  Mochteus. 

He  received  the  viaticum  from  the  hands  of  S.  Dageus, 
and  died  in  535. 
ij, ^ 


August  ig.] 


S.  Sebaldus.  183 


S.  SEBALDUS,  H. 
(8th  cent.) 

[Venerated  chiefly  at  Niirnberg  ;  devotion  sanctioned  by  Martin  V. 
German  Martyrologies.  Authority  : — An  ancient  life  by  an  anonymous 
author,  the  date  uncertain,  probably  of  the  nth  cent.] 

Sebald  was  brought  up  in  his  boyhood  at  the  court  of 
Dagobert  ;*  he  was  the  son  of  a  petty  chief  on  the  Danube. 
He  was  in  Rome  when  SS.  WiHibald  and  Wunibald  were 
there,  a.d.  733 — 739,  and  departed  at  the  same  time  as 
Wilhbald,*  to  carry  the  gospel  into  the  wilds  of  Germany, 
where  S.  Boniface,  the  kinsman  of  Willibald  and  Wunibald, 
was  labouring  to  produce  a  reformation  among  the  turbulent 
prelates,  and  to  spread  the  truth  among  those  who  as  yet 
knew  not  Christ.  It  is  probable  that  Sebald  travelled  with 
Willibald,  and  when  the  latter  settled  at  Eichstadt  on  the 
confines  of  Franconia,  Sebald  pushed  further  north,  to  the 
bold  rock  rising  out  of  the  plain,  above  the  Pegnitz,  now 
crowned  by  the  picturesque  castle  of  Niirnberg,  and  settled 
there  in  the  heart  of  the  Franconian  people. 

Some  slight  difficulty  occurs  in  reconciling  dates.  Wunibald 
was  at  Rome  with  Willibald  in  721,  but  apparently  not  in 
733  and  the  six  years  following,  when  Willibald  returned 
from  his  pilgrimage  in  the  Holy  Land. 

Sebald  arrived  in  Rome  during  the  pontificate  of  Gregory 
IL  (a.d.  715 — 731);  Willibald  did  not  start  for  Germany 
till  739.  But  the  biographer  tells  us  of  a  long  period  of 
eremitical  life  spent  in  Lombardy  near  Vicenza,  and  this 
may  have  occurred  during  the  time  that  Willibald  was  in  the 
East.  When  Gregory  HL  sought  for  missionaries  to  send 
into  Germany  in  answer  to  the  appeal  of  S.  Boniface,  he 
probably  summoned  Sebald  from  his  retreat  to  join 
Willibald. 

•  The  biographer  says  Pepin  and  Charlemagne,  but  this  is  a  gross  anachronism. 

^July  7,  p.  180. 
d4 


* 


184  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  19. 


One  day  Sebald  asked  shelter  of  a  labourer  in  bitter 
frosty  weather.  The  snow  was  over  the  ground,  the  wind 
howled  over  the  frozen  marshes  of  the  Pegnitz.  He  was 
received  with  great  churlishness.  In  vain  he  crouched  over 
the  low  embers  of  the  fire,  seeking  to  restore  warmth  to  his 
chilled  hands  and  feet.  At  last  he  ventured  to  ask  if  more 
fuel  might  be  cast  on  the  hearth.  "  I  cannot  afford  it,"  said 
the  surly  rustic,  "  it  takes  time  to  cut  wood  and  cart  it." 

"  Then,  good  woman,"  said  Sebald,  addressing  the  wife  of 
the  churl,  who  looked  on  him  with  pitying  eyes,  "  go  fetch 
in  a  sheaf  of  icicles  I  saw  hanging  from  the  roof."  The 
woman — so  runs  the  tale — obeyed,  and,  at  Sebald's  com- 
mand, cast  them  on  the  fire.  A  flame  shot  up  and  crackled 
among  the  icicles,  and  speedily  the  whole  bundle  was  in 
roaring  flames. 

It  IS  a  pretty  story,  perhaps  only  an  allegory  of  how  Sebald 
quickened  and  made  to  flame  with  divine  love  the  icy 
Franconian  natures,  which  seemed  as  impossible  to  warm 
with  grace  as  the  wintei-'s  ice. 

At  length  he  died,  and  those  who  ministered  to  him 
swung  incense  over  the  dead  body  of  the  old  hermit,  and 
lit  candles  about  it.  Now,  there  was  a  woman,  a  sinner, 
whom  Sebald  had  turned  to  the  love  of  the  living  God.  And 
in  memory  of  her  sin,  and  in  expiation  thereof,  she  wore 
about  her  arm  a  hoop  of  iron.  And  she  came  to  see  the 
dead  hermit.  And  one  of  the  candles  about  his  head  was 
crooked,  and  swaled  ;  then  she  stretched  forth  her  arm  and 
set  it  upright,  and  the  iron  band  burst  at  the  same  moment. 
So  she  thought  that  the  old  n~an,  as  he  entered  into  the 
presence  of  God,  had  not  forgotten  the  poor  woman  whom 
he  had  converted  on  earth,  and  that  God  had  heard  his 
petition,  and  the  snapped  ring  was  a  token  sent  her  that  her 
sins,  which  were  many,  were  pardoned. 

The  body  of  the  hermit  rests  in  an  exquisite  shrine  in  the 

* * 


S.  SEBALD   MAKING  A   FIRE   FROM   ICICLES. 

A  relief  from  the  tomb  of  S.  Sebald,  by  Peter  Vischer  and  his  sons, 
in  the  church  of  S.  Sebald,  Nurembnrg. 


Aug.    p.  184.  J 


[Aug.  19. 


k<- 


i86  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  19. 

Lashed  to  insurrection  by  the  unexampled  barbarities  and 
outrages  committed  by  the  French  soldiers  in  Sicily,  the  people 
rose  as  one  body,  and  massacred  the  insolent  and  brutal 
invaders,  March  31,  a.d.  1282.  Charles  of  Anjou  was  then 
at  Naples.  When  he  heard  of  the  revolt,  of  the  total  loss  of 
Sicily,  he  sat  silent,  glaring  fiercely  around  him,  gnawing  the 
top  of  his  sceptre ;  then  broke  into  horrible  vows  of  ven- 
geance :  "  If  he  could  live  a  thousand  years,  he  would  go 
on  razing  the  cities,  burning  the  lands,  torturing  the  rebel- 
lious slaves.  He  would  leave  Sicily  a  blasted,  barren,  unin- 
habited rock,  as  a  warning  and  an  example." 

The  Pope,  Martin  IV.,  seconded  him  by  hurling  a  bull  of 
excommunication  against  the  rebels  who  had  dared  to 
rise  against  a  foreign  king  imposed  on  them  by  Papal 
authority,  a  king  who  had  murdered  in  cold  blood  their 
beloved  and  rightful  heir,  the  boy  Conradin,  and  who  had 
filled  every  corner  of  Sicily  and  Naples  with  blood,  outrage, 
and  robbery.  A  crusade  was  proclaimed  against  the  insur- 
gents. The  people  of  Palermo  replied,  "  They  had  unfolded 
the  banner  of  S.  Peter,  in  hopes,  under  its  protection,  to 
obtain  their  liberties ;  now  they  unfurled  the  banner  of 
another  Peter,  the  King  of  Aragon,  they  placed  the  island 
of  Sicily  under  his  protection." 

Peter  of  Aragon,  to  whom  the  Palermitans  had  offered 
the  kingdom  of  Sicily,  at  once  embarked  an  army  and  landed 
at  Trapani,  and  hastened  to  the  relief  of  Messina,  then  in- 
vested by  King  Charles.  The  Papal  legate  who  was  with 
the  French  army  demanded  to  be  allowed  to  enter  the  city- 
He  was  received  with  the  utmost  respect,  he  was  implored 
to  accept  the  dominion  of  the  city  in  the  name  of  the 
Church.  "  To  the  Church  they  would  willingly  pay  their 
tribute,  but  never,  never  again  to  the  French." 

The  legate  replied  by  inviting  them,  "  Let  Messina  lay 


*- 


►f* 


August  tg,] 


kS.  Louis.  187 


herself  in  the  lap  of  the  Church,  in  her  name  to  be  restored 
to  King  Charles."  "To  Charles,  never!'  The  people 
took  up  the  cry,  "  To  the  French  never !  so  long  as  we 
have  blood  to  shed  and  swords  to  wield."  They  knew  too 
well  the  mercy  of  Charles. 

Charles  of  Anjou  made  a  furious  assault  on  the  city,  but 
was  repelled.  Ambassadors  from  the  King  of  Aragon 
arrived.  Charles  received  them  boiling  with  rage  and 
baffled  pride,  sitting  on  his  bed,  and,  with  the  gesture  con- 
stantly ascribed  to  him,  gnawing  his  sceptre. 

The  letter  of  the  King  of  Aragon  was  bold,  defiant; 
it  ordered  Charles,  "  Count  of  Provence  and  King  of  Jeru- 
salem," to  depart  out  of  Sicily ;  and  expressed  astonish- 
ment at  his  presumption  in  impeding  the  passage  of  the 
king  through  his  dominions. 

From  this  period,  the  mind  of  Charles,  never  strong,  but 
insolent  and  cruel  in  prosperity,  sank  into  a  strange  prostra- 
tion; he  withdrew  to  Naples,  and  appealed  to  the  Pope  to  hurl 
his  thunders  against  Peter  of  Aragon.  A  new  disaster  com- 
pleted the  humiliation  of  Charles.  His  fleet  was  discom- 
fited, and  his  son  Charles  was  taken  prisoner.  The  precious 
hostage  was  in  the  power  of  his  enemies ;  on  him  they 
might  wreak  vengeance  for  the  death  of  the  young  Conradin. 
His  strength  failed,  and  he  died  the  same  year  at  Foggia. 
The  same  year  saw  the  death  of  Peter  of  Aragon,  leaving  his 
Spanish  possessions  to  his  elder  son  Alfonso,  and  the 
crown  of  Sicily  to  the  Infant  James. 

Edward  I.  of  England,  allied  with  the  Houses  of  Aragon 
and  of  Anjou,  now  mediated  to  obtain  the  liberation  of 
Charles  the  Lame,  the  son  of  Charles  of  Anjou.  The  King 
of  Aragon  would  not  surrender  his  captive,  still  in  prison 
in  Catalonia,  except  at  the  price  of  the  recognition  of  the 
Aragonese  title  to  the  kingdom    of  Sicily;    and  Charles, 


*- 


1 88  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  19. 


weary  of  bondage,  consented.  By  the  treaty  of  Campo 
Franco,  drawn  up  by  the  Papal  notary,  Charles  pledged 
himself  to  arrange  a  peace  satisfactory  to  the  kings  of 
Aragon  and  of  Sicily,  to  surrender  his  claims  to  the 
latter,  and  to  give  up  his  three  sons  and  sixty  Pro- 
ven gal  nobles  as  hostages.  He  was  released  (a.d.  1288). 
Pope  Nicholas  IV.  at  once  annulled  the  treaty  written  by 
his  own  notary,  and  absolved  Charles  from  his  solemn  oath 
to  observe  the  conditions  of  the  compact. 

But  the  cautious  King  of  Aragon  did  not  allow  his 
captive  to  escape,  till  three  princes,  the  sons  of  Charles, 
were  in  his  power.  One  of  these  was  Louis,  the  subject  of 
this  notice. 

During  his  captivity  Louis  was  attacked  with  a  dangerous 
illness,  and  thinking  himself  dying,  he  vowed,  should  he  be 
restored  to  health,  to  join  the  Order  of  S.  Francis.  A  pro- 
vidential escape  from  being  crushed  by  a  horse  which  fell 
upon  him,  after  his  recovery,  confirmed  him  in  his  resolution 
to  devote  his  life  to  religion. 

After  seven  years  of  captivity,  he  was  released  (a.d.  1295), 
and  returned  to  Naples,  where  he  took  holy  orders  and  was 
ordained  priest.  He  lived  in  a  castle  above  that  deep  blue 
bay,  opposite  Vesuvius  with  its  streamer  of  smoke.  He  said 
mass  every  day,  and  spent  his  leisure  in  a  garden  where  he 
dug  and  weeded  and  tended  his  flowers  with  great  assiduity. 
A  favourite  friend  was  Jacques  d'Euse,  a  litde  deformed  man, 
a  cobbler's  son  of  Cahors.  He  had  followed  in  his  youth 
the  fortunes  of  an  uncle,  who  had  a  small  trading  capital,  at 
Naples.  He  settled  in  that  brilliant  and  pleasant  city. 
It  presented  openings  for  needy  and  ambitious  Frenchmen- 
He  was  encouraged  to  study  by  a  Franciscan  friar,  but  refused 
to  enter  the  Order.  The  poor  scholar  was  recommended  to 
the  instructor  of  the  king's  children.  He  ingratiated  himself 
into  the  favour  of  Louis ;  from  step  to  step  he  mounted  till, 


►  ■«- 


Angust  19.] 


kS.  Louis.  189 


in  1316,  he  became  Pope  (as  John  XXII.)  at  Avignon.  One 
of  his  first  acts  was  to  canonize  his  friend  and  benefactor, 
Louis  of  Naples. 

Under  the  tuition  of  Richard  k  Mediavilla,  the  Francis- 
can, Louis  acquired  some  theological  and  philosophic  learn- 
ing, and  becoming  more  and  more  attached  to  the  Minorite 
Order,  he  surrounded  himself  with  grey  habited  friars.  He 
was  speedily  advanced  to  the  bishopric  of  Toulouse,  at  the 
age  of  twent}'-two,  in  1296,  and  died  the  following  year. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  zealous  preacher,  addressing  the 
people  even  as  much  as  twice  a  Sunday.  His  sermons 
were  not  without  fruit 

The  interests  of  the  Papal  See,  no  less  than  his  alliance 
with  Charles  of  Naples,  bound  Pope  Boniface  VIII. ,  now 
occupying  the  throne  of  S.  Peter,  to  reconcile,  if  possible, 
the  conflicting  pretensions  of  the  Houses  of  Anjou  and 
Aragon,  and  to  bury  in  forgetfulness  the  failure  of  the 
efforts  ot  the  Holy  See  tc  crush  and  expel  the  Spaniard 
and  restore  Sicily  to  the  merciless  hand  of  the  Frenchman. 
The  Aragonese,  notwithstanding  the  most  solemn  excom- 
munications, and  reiterated  grants  of  the  Kingdom  of  Sicily 
to  the  Angevin,  the  most  strenuous  warfare  of  the  combined 
Papal  and  Angevin  annies,  had  still  obstinately  maintained 
their  title  by  descent,  election  of  the  people,  and  actual 
possession.  The  throne  of  Sicily  had  successively  passed 
from  Peter  to  Alfonso,  from  Alfonso  to  James  ;  from  James 
it  had  devolved,  in  fact,  if  not  by  any  regular  grant  or  title, 
to  his  younger  brother  Frederick. 

During  the  reign  of  the  peaceful  James  a  treaty  had  been 
agreed  to.  Two  marriages,  to  which  Pope  Coelestine 
removed  the  canonical  impediments,  ratified  the  peace. 
James  of  Aragon  was  espoused  to  Bianca,  daughter  of 
Charles ;  and  Robert  the  next  son  of  Charles,  after  Louis, 
to  lolante,  the  sister  of  James. 


*- 


-* 


190  Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  19. 


The  biographer  of  S.  Louis  says  that  he  resigned  the 
crown  that  might  have  been  his,  in  order  to  devote  himself 
wholly  to  religion.  In  1290  Charles  Martel,  his  elder 
brother,  succeeded  to  the  crown  of  Hungary,  by  right  of 
his  mother,  Mary,  sister  and  heiress  of  Ladislas  IV.  Charles 
the  Lame  did  not  die  till  1309,  consequently  it  is  not  very 
clear  what  crown  Louis  rejected,  unless  it  were  the  prospect 
of  one,  that  of  Naples,  to  which  his  younger  brother  Robert 
succeeded  in  1309.  But  Louis  was  then  dead.  Not  long 
after  his  appointment  as  Bishop  of  Toulouse,  he  was  given 
also  the  see  of  Pamiers,  which  BonifaceVIII.  had  just  erected. 
He  had  joined  the  Order  of  S.  Francis  when  he  was  conse- 
crated Bishop,  in  the  Church  of  Ara  Cceli  in  Rome.  In  his 
palace  at  Toulouse  he  affected  the  Minorite  colours,  his  bed- 
curtains  were  grey,  so  were  the  coverings  of  his  chairs  and 
stools.  All  his  gold  and  silver  plate  and  jewellery  he  sent  to 
his  father,  and  used  in  his  household  wooden  bowls  and 
platters.  Even  his  silver  comb  he  resigned,  not  without  a 
sigh,  and  in  its  place  used  a  fanshell,  employed  in  the  stables 
for  measuring  the  oats  for  the  horses.  But  having  been 
remonstrated  with,  he  relaxed  the  severity  of  his  rule,  and 
allowed  the  table  to  be  laid  with  a  few  silver  articles. 

Every  day  he  washed  the  hands  and  cut  up  the  bread  of 
twenty-five  poor  wights,  and  when  he  found  among  the 
beggars  who  hung  about  his  hall  an  old  man  unable  to  feed 
himself,  he  benignantly  placed  the  food  in  the  man's  mouth. 
In  his  bed  lay  with  him  "  two  friars  minors,  and  sometimes 
more."  His  habit  was  old  and  dirty  and  ragged  ;  meeting 
a  man  one  day  without  clothes,  he  pulled  off  his  dress  and 
threw  it  over  the  pauper.  He  urged  on  his  clergy  not  to 
appear  gay  and  dapper  in  dress.  "  Dirty  clothes,"  said  he, 
"cover  clean  souls." 

In  1297  he  went  into  Catalonia,  to  visit  his  sister,  and 
on  his  way  back  to  Toulouse  was  attacked  with  fever  at 


August  19.  J 


iS*.  Louis, 


191 


Tarascon,  and  died  there.  He  was  taken  to  Marseilles,  and 
there  buried.  He  was  aged  fourteen  when  sent  a  hostage 
into  Spain,  and  there  he  spent  seven  years  in  captivity. 
After  his  release  he  was  rapidly  promoted  to  Orders  before 
the  canonical  age,  and  given  the  bishoprics  of  Toulouse  and 
Pamiers,  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  two  years  and 
ten  months  after  he  left  his  captivity. 


S.  Radegund,  wife  of  King  Clcthair,  receiving  the  religious  habit  at  the  handa  of 
3.  Medard,  Bp.  of  Noyon.      See  p.  lOa. 


-* 


192  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  2a 


August  20. 

S.  Samuel,  Prophet  in  Palestine ;  circ.  B.C.  1058. 

S-  Lucius,  M.  in  Cyprus  ;  i,th  cent. 

SS.  Severus  and  Memnon,  MM.  at  Thace ;  ^thceni. 

SS.   Leontius  and  Carpophorus,  mm.  at  Vieenza,  in  Italy  I 

\th  cent. 
S.  AucTOR,  B.  of  Trebles  ;  5/A  cent. 
S.  OswiN,  K.  M.  ofNorthujnhria;  a.d.  651. 

S.  Philibert,  Ab.  of  Jumieges  and  Noirmoutier  ;  circ.  a.d   687. 
SS.  Leovigii-d  and  Christopher,  MM.  at  Cordova;  a.d.  852. 
S.  Bernard,  Ah.  D.,  ofClaif-vatix;  a.d.  1153. 
S.  Ronald,  M.  in  Orkney;  a.d.  1158. 

S.    OSWIN,    K.  M. 
(a.d.  651.) 

[Anciently  venerated  in  Northumbria.  Authorities :— John  of  Tyne- 
mouth's  Acts  of  S.  Oswin  ;  mention  by  Bede,  H.  E.  iii.  14  ;  Vita  Oswini 
in  the  pubhcations  of  the  Surtees  Society,  1838.  The  following  is,  for  the 
most  part,  from  Montalembert's  Monks  of  the  West.] 


;N  the  death  of  S.  Oswald,  Northumbria  fell  a  prey, 
first  to  the  ravages  of  Mercian  invasion,  then  to 
the  complications  and  weakness  of  a  divided 
succession.     Like  the  Merovingian,  and  even  the 


Carolingian  Franks,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  particularly  the 
Angles  of  Northumbria,  could  not  resist  the  incUnation 
which  led  them  to  accept  or  incite  the  division  of  a  kingdom 
among  several  princes,  as  soon  as  there  appeared  several 
heirs  of  a  deceased  king.  Oswald  left  a  son  in  childhood, 
whose  claims  were  not  at  that  moment  taken  into  considera- 
tion. His  brother  Oswy,  still  in  the  flower  of  his  youth,  at 
once  took  his  place  in  Bernicia  —  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Northumbria.  As  for  Deira,  it  fell  to  a 
prince  of  the  Deirian  dynasty,  grand  nephew  to  Ella,  the 
founder  of  that  race.     Osric,  after  a  short  reign,  had  fallen 


♦- 


by  the  sword  of  Cadwallon's  Britons.  His  son,  called 
Oswin,  had  been  saved  while  yet  a  child  by  his  friends,  and 
sent  out  of  Northumbria,  and  had  passed  his  youth  in  exile, 
like  Edwin,  and  the  two  brothers  Oswald  and  Oswy. 

But  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Oswald,  Oswin  returned 
to  Deira,  and  claimed  his  right  of  succession.  The  old 
subjects  of  his  father,  Osric,  and  his  great  uncle,  Ella, 
received  him  gladly.  The  principal  nobles  met  in  assembly 
(a.d.  642),  acknowledged  his  hereditary  right,  and  pro- 
claimed him  King  of  the  Deirians,  and  for  seven  years  he 
governed  them  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  He  was  still  very 
young,  of  lofty  stature,  endowed  with  remarkable  comehness 
and  grace — a  matter  of  no  small  importance  in  an  age  and 
among  a  people  extremely  sensible  to  external  advantages. 
But  he  had,  in  addition,  all  the  virtues  which  were  then 
regarded  as  proofs  of  sanctity.  liis  extreme  gentleness,  his 
charity,  and,  above  all,  his  humility,  were  universally  extolled. 
He  was,  moreover,  so  accessible,  so  courteous  and  generous, 
that  the  noble  lords  of  all  Northumbria  vied  with  each  other 
in  seeking  the  honour  of  serving  among  those  officers  of 
his  household  whom  the  Latin  historians  designate  in 
England,  as  elsewhere,  by  the  name  of  "ministrales." 

Although  Oswin  had  been  exiled  among  the  Saxons  of 
Wessex,  and  not  in  Scotland,  like  his  cousins  and  rivals, 
Oswald  and  Oswy,  he  was  already  a  Christian  when  he 
returned  to  Northumbria,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  recognise 
the  episcopal  authority  of  S.  Aidan,  emanating  from  the 
Celtic  ecclesiastical  metropolis  of  lona.  During  his  whole 
reign,  this  monk  of  lona,  now  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  con- 
tinued to  labour  in  the  two  kingdoms  which  formed  his  vast 
diocese.  It  was  his  special  pleasure,  when  in  Deira,  to  rest 
under  the  hospitable  roof  of  the  young  Oswin,  with  whom 
he  always  lived  in  as  tender  and  thorough  a  union  as  that 
which  had  united  him  to  Oswald. 

VOL.   IX.  13 


* — * 

194  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts 

An  oft-repeated  anecdote,  which  reveals  at  once  the 
pleasant  intimacy  of  their  relations,  and  the  noble  delicacy 
of  their  minds,  has  been  left  to  us  by  Bede.  Aidan  per- 
formed all  his  apostolic  journeys  on  foot,  but  it  was  the 
king's  wish  that  he  should  have  at  least  one  horse  to  cross 
the  rivers,  or  for  other  special  emergencies ;  he  gave  him 
accordingly  his  best  steed,  splendidly  caparisoned.  The 
bishop  accepted  it,  and  made  use  of  it,  but  being,  as  Bede 
calls  him,  "  the  father  and  the  worshipper  of  the  poor,"  it 
happened  ere  long  that,  meeting  a  man  who  asked  alms,  he 
leaped  down  from  his  royal  charger,  and  gave  it,  harnessed, 
as  it  was,  to  the  beggar.  The  king,  being  informed  of  this, 
said  to  Aidan,  as  they  were  going  to  dinner  together,  "  Good 
bishop,  what  do  you  mean  by  giving  my  horse  to  that 
beggar?"  "What  is  this  you  ask?"  replied  Aidan.  "Oh, 
king,  the  horse,  which  is  the  son  of  a  mare,  is  it  more 
precious  than  the  man  who  is  a  son  of  God  ?"  As  he  said 
this  they  entered  the  banqueting-hall.  Oswin,  who  had  just 
returned  from  the  chase,  approached  the  fire  with  his  officers, 
before  sitting  down  at  the  table,  and  while  he  warmed  him- 
self, thought  over  the  words  of  the  bishop ;  then,  all  at  once, 
taking  oft"  his  sword,  he  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  saint 
and  implored  his  pardon.  "  No  more,"  said  he,  "  shall  I 
regret  anything  of  mine  that  is  given  away  to  the  children  of 
God."  The  words,  those  few  little  words,  of  Aidan,  had 
opened  up  a  new  train  of  ideas  in  the  king's  mind  ;  in  one 
moment  he  had  learned,  what  it  has  taken  Christian  Europe 
centuries  to  learn,  that  the  life  and  welfare  of  every  Christian 
man,  poor  and  simple,  as  well  as  noble  and  learned,  is  most 
precious.  As  they  sat  down  to  dinner  after  this  touching 
scene,  the  king  was  bright  and  joyous ;  but  the  clerks  of 
Aidan  saw  the  tears  slowly  stealing  down  the  old  bishop's 
furrowed  cheeks.  "  Why  so  sad  ?"  asked  a  priest  in  the 
Celtic  tongue,  which  Oswin  and  his  nobles  did  not  uuder- 

(j, * 


stand.  "  I  know  that  this  young  king  cannot  live  long," 
answered  Aidan  in  the  same  language,  "  for  never  until  now 
have  I  seen  a  king  so  humble,  and  this  turbulent  people  is 
not  worthy  of  so  gentle  a  prince." 

The  sad  foreboding  of  the  saint  was  realized  only  too 
soon.  There  rose  in  the  heart  of  Oswy  of  Bernicia  a  jealous 
animosity  towards  the  young  king,  which  ripened  into  civil 
war.  After  seven  years  of  union  between  the  two  kings  of 
Bernicia  and  Deira,  occasions  of  estrangement,  ever  in- 
creasing, began  to  arise  between  them.  These  were  owing, 
it  cannot  be  doubted,  to  the  preference  which  was  shown  by 
many  of  the  Northumbrian  nobles  for  the  service  of  Oswin. 
Oswy  marched  against  the  Deirians.  Oswin  likewise  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  army ;  but  it  was  much  less 
numerous  than  that  of  the  King  of  Bernicia,  which  was 
swelled  by  numerous  auxiliaries.  Oswin  found  that  he  could 
not  possibly  oppose  an  efiectual  resistance  to  the  invader ; 
that  to  meet  him  would  be  to  deliver  up  his  faithful  followers 
to  massacre.  He  therefore  disbanded  his  army  at  "  Wilfafs- 
dun,  which  is  almost  ten  miles  to  the  north-w-est  from 
Catterick."^  He  himself  took  refuge  with  one  trusty  soldier, 
named  Tondhere,  in  the  castle  of  Gilling,  the  habitation  of 
Earl  Hunwald,  on  whom  he  had  conferred  much  land  and 
whom  he  trusted  as  faithful.  Hunwald  basely  betrayed  the 
place  of  his  retreat  to  Oswy,  who  sent  his  officer,  Ethelwin, 
to  Gilling,  \vith  orders  to  put  the  young  king  and  his  followers 
to  death.  Oswin  entreated  that  his  companion  Tondhere 
might  be  spared,  but  the  gallant  soldier  chose  to  die  with 
his  master. 

The  king  and  his  knight  thus  perished  together,  on  the 
20th  of  August,  A.D.  651  ;  and  twelve  days  afterwards  Bishop 
Aidan  followed  the  king  he  loved  to  the  tomb.  The  body 
of  Aidan  was  carried  to  his  monastic  cathedral  of  Lindis- 

'  The  position  cannot  now  be  fixed. 

13—2 


^— )J( 

196  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  20. 


fame  ;  but  that  of  his  royal  friend  Oswin  was  deposited  in  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  at  Tynemouth. 
Some  years  later,  on  the  very  spot  where  Oswin  had  perished, 
at  Gilling,  near  Richmond,  a  monastery  was  reared  in 
expiation  of  so  foul  a  crime,  by  the  wife  of  his  murderer. 
This  was  none  other  than  Eanfleda,  daughter  of  King 
Edwin,  she  whose  birth  had  contributed  to  the  conversion 
of  her  father,  who  had  been  the  first-born  of  Christ  in  the 
Northumbrian  kingdom,  and  who,  after  the  overthrow  of 
Edwin  and  the  Roman  mission  in  the  north,  had  been 
carried  in  her  cradle  by  Bishop  Paulinus  into  the  country  of 
her  mother,  Ethelburga,  daughter  of  the  first  Christian  King 
of  Kent. 


S.  BERNARD,  AB.  D. 

(A.D.  1153.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  canonized  by  Alexander  III.  in  1165.  Autho- 
rities : — A  life,  the  first  book  by  William,  Abbot  of  S.  Thierry  ;  the  second 
by  Ernald,  Abbot  of  Bonneval  ;  the  third  by  Gaufrid,  secretary  of  S.  Bernard, 
afterwards  Abbot  of  Clairvaux,  d.  1180  ;  the  fourth  and  fifth  books  by  the 
same  ;  the  sixth  book,  on  the  miracles  of  S.  Bernard,  by  Philip,  monk  of 
Clairvaux,  Gaufrid  of  Clairvaux,  and  an  epistle  from  the  monks  of  Clair- 
vaux to  the  clerks  of  Cologne.  Another  life  of  S.  Bernard,  by  Alanis, 
Bishop  of  Auxerre,  d.  1185.  Epistola  de  morte  S.  Bernardi,  by  the  above- 
named  Gaufrid.  Another  life  by  Bernard  Guntolf,  monk,  written  in  metre, 
13th  cent.     Another  by  John  the  eremite,  &c.] 

S.  Bernard  was  a  Burgundian  by  birth.  A  mile  outside 
the  walls  of  Dijon,  in  full  view  of  the  range  of  the  Cote 
d'Or  hills,  stood  a  castle,  crowning  a  small  height  called 
"  Les  Fontaines,"  from  the  limpid  springs  which  gush  from 
its  base.  This  castle  belonged  to  S.  Bernard's  father, 
Tesselin,  a  brave  knight,  a  friend  and  vassal  of  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy.     Tesselin    had    the    surname   of  Sorus,   which 

^ ^ 


-* 


August  aa] 


»S".  Bernard.  197 


meant,  in  the  Burgundian  patois,  reddish,  or  russet-haired. 
Tesselin's  wife  was  Alitha,  a  pious.  God-fearing  woman. 
She  bore  him  seven  children,  six  sons  and  a  daughter.  Her 
boys  she  offered  to  the  Lord  as  soon  as  they  were  born. 
Charity  of  the  most  practical  kind  was  exercised  by  her  in 
her  neighbourhood.  Bernard  was  born  in  1091,  and  when 
he  was  old  enough,  was  sent  to  school  at  Chatillon.  He 
soon  fulfilled  his  mother's  hopes  by  his  proficiency.  Studious 
and  retiring,  he  loved  to  be  alone,  and  was  "  marvellously 
cogitative,"  we  are  told. 

Another  account  describes  him  as  zealous  and  ambitious 
of  literary  fame,  and  as  carrying  on  a  vigorous  rivalry  with  his 
fellows  in  verses  and  repartees. 

S.  Bernard  was  passing  from  boyhood  to  youth  when  his 
mother  died,  a.d.  1105,  and  after  her  death  the  aching 
heart  of  Bernard  led  him  to  imagine  he  saw  her  visit  him 
at  night  in  visions,  and  encourage  him  to  accompHsh  the 
good  resolve  of  becoming  a  monk. 

Yet  he  had  a  struggle  to  go  through  before  he  could 
choose  finally  the  ascetic  career.  His  mind  was  expanding, 
and  craved  for  greater  growth.  The  schools  of  Paris  were 
rapidly  becoming  centres  of  intellectual  life  and  activity. 
Philosophy  once  more,  after  a  long  night  of  sleep,  began  to 
exercise  a  spell  on  men's  minds.  It  was  not  without  an 
effort  that  Bernard  quelled  the  fervent  straining  of  his  mind 
for  intellectual  activity,  and  condemned  it  to  bondage  to  the 
soul,  whose  welfare  alone  he  resolved  to  cultivate. 

Bernard  persuaded  his  uncle  and  two  younger  brothers, 
Bartholomew  and  Andrew,  to  abandon  the  world  with  him. 
Guido,  another  brother,  he  persuaded  to  desert  his  young 
wife,  and  fly  to  the  cloister.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  in 
II 13,  Bernard  and  his  companions  knocked  at  the  gate, 
and  disappeared  within  the  walls  of  Citeaux. 

Citeaux  was  growing  in  fame,  and  soon  the  small  monas- 


*- 


i±< 


iff * 

198  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  20. 

tery  had  more  inmates  than  it  could  conveniently  hold.  A 
colony  of  monks  was  despatched,  under  the  guidance  of  an 
aged  brother  named  Bertrand,  to  found  the  Abbey  of  La 
Fertd.  Hugh  of  Macon  in  a  short  time  was  the  leader  of 
another  swarm  from  the  parental  hive,  and  established  a 
house  at  Pontigny.  And  already,  in  1115,  two  years  after 
the  arrival  of  Bernard  and  his  companions,  it  was  necessary 
to  look  out  for  the  means  of  founding  another  offshoot  of 
the  now  prolific  Citeaux. 

Twelve  monks,  under  Bernard,  were  sent  forth.  Bernard 
struck  northward,  and  for  a  distance  of  nearly  ninety  miles  he 
kept  this  course,  passing  up  the  source  of  the  Seine,  till  he 
arrived  at  La  Fert^  on  the  Aube.  About  four  miles  beyond 
La  Fert^  was  a  deep  valley  opening  to  the  east ;  thick  woods 
gave  it  a  character  of  gloom  and  wildness ;  but  a  clear 
stream  which  ran  through  it  was  sufficient  to  relieve  its 
dreariness,  and  promise  pure  drinking  water  and  full  fish 
ponds  to  settlers  on  its  banks. 

In  June,  a.d.    1115,   Bernard  took  up  his  abode  in  the 

valley  of  Wormwood,  as  it  was  then  called,  and  began  to 

look  about  for  means  of  shelter  and  sustenance  against  the 

approaching  winter.     The  rude  fabric  which   he   and  his 

monks  raised  with  their  own  hands,  was  long  preserved  by 

the  pious  veneration  of  the  Cistercians.     It  consisted  of  a 

building  covered  by  a  single  roof;  under  which,  chapel, 

dormitory,  and  refectory  were  all  included.      Neither  stone 

nor   wood  hid   the   bare   earth,    which    served   for   lloor. 

Windows,  scarcely  wider  than  a  man's  hand,  admitted  a 

feeble  light.     In  this   room    the  monks  took  their  frugal 

meals  of  herbs  and  water.     Immediately  above  the  refectory 

was  the  sleeping  apartment.     It  was  reached  by  a  ladder, 

and  was  in  truth  a  sort  of  loft.     Here  were  the  monks'  beds. 

boxes  of  wooden  planks,  long  and  wide  enough  for  a  man 

to  lie  down  on.     The  inside  was  strewn  with  chaff,  or  dried 

leaves. 
* — * 


^ _>J, 

August  »o.i  S.Bernard.  199 

At  the  summit  of  the  stair  was  the  abbot's  cell.  It  was 
of  most  scanty  dimensions.  A  framework  of  boards  was 
placed  over  the  flight  of  steps,  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
space  might  be  economized  for  the  purpose  of  a  bed.  Two 
rough-hewn  logs  of  wood  were  the  abbot's  pillows.  The 
roof  was  low,  and  slanting  to  such  a  degree  that  it  was 
impossible  to  sit  upright  near  the  wall.  Little  openings  in 
the  roof  admitted  light  and  air,  and  too  often  also  snow, 
rain,  and  cold  winds. ^ 

The  monks  had  thus  got  a  house  over  their  heads ;  but 
they  had  little  else.  They  had  left  Citeaux  in  June.  Their 
journey  had  probably  occupied  them  a  fortnight,  their 
clearing  preparations  and  building  perhaps  two  months  ; 
and  thus  they  would  be  near  September  when  this  portion 
of  their  labour  was  accomplished.  Autumn  and  winter 
were  approaching,  and  they  had  no  store  laid  by  except 
the  beech-masts  collected  in  the  woods,  and  such  roots  as 
were  fit  to  be  eaten.  Their  privations  caused  by  insufficient 
food  were  heightened  by  the  wearing  out  of  their  shoes  and 
clothes.  Their  necessities  grew  with  the  severity  of  the 
season,  till  at  last  even  salt  failed  them.  The  charity  of 
neighbours  kept  the  miserable  band  alive  during  the  winter. 
This  crisis  over,  a  brighter  prospect  opened  on  Clairvaux. 
The  curiosity  first,  then  the  sympathy  of  the  neighbourhood 
was  attracted,  and  Clairvaux  was  soon  placed  beyond  the 
reach  of  those  trials  which  had  threatened  to  extinguish  its 
infancy. 

The  labours,    anxieties,  and    privations   had    been   too 

much  for  Bernard,  and  he  fell  dangerously  ill.     His  friend, 

Bishop  William  of  Chalons,  interposed  and  insisted  on  his 

aking  complete  rest  and  relaxing  his  severe  fasting.     By 

this  means  he  saved  Bernard's  life. 


•  Joseph  Meglinger,  a  monk  of  Wettingen,  in  1667,  visited  Clairvaux,  and  gives  a 
description  of  the  old  monastery,  which  was  carefully  preserved.  Meglinger's 
Itin.  c.  66,  67. 


*- 


-VI 


200  Lives  of  the  Saints.  j^^g^^j  ^ 


It  was  Bernard's  often-expressed  wish  and  resolution  not 
to  leave  his  monastery  except  at  the  command  of  his 
superiors.  In  1125  he  made  two  journeys,  one  to  Paris, 
the  other  to  La  Grande  Chartreuse,  and  therefore  in  all 
probability  both  were  in  some  way  connected  with  monastic 
business. 

The  Carthusian  Order  had  been  founded  by  S.  Bruno  in 
1084.  The  prior  thereof,  whom  S.  Bernard  visited,  was 
named  Guigo.  He  and  Bernard  had  been  writing  to  one 
another  before  they  made  personal  acquaintance.  It  was 
with  delight  that  Guigo  received  Bernard  at  his  gates.  But 
his  delight  was  clouded  by  the  fact  that  Bernard  rode  on  a 
saddle  too  comfortably  padded,  and  too  handsomely 
adorned,  to  be  consistent  with  his  profession  of  self-denial. 
Guigo  remonstrated.  Bernard  expressed  his  surprise.  In 
his  journeys  he  had  not  noticed  the  saddle,  which  had  been 
lent  him  by  his  uncle,  a  Cluniac  monk.  Guigo  received 
this  explanation  with  satisfaction,  and  wondered  at  the  depth 
of  contemplation  which  had  hidden  from  Bernard  for  several 
days  what  he  saw  at  the  first  glance. 

On  Bernard's  visit  to  Paris  he  was  exhorted  to  go  into  the 
schools,  and  lecture  to  the  young  men  there  collected. 
But  instead  of  addressing  their  intellects,  he  appealed  to 
their  consciences,  and  exhorted  his  hearers  to  cast  away  the 
vain  thoughts  of  mental  cultivation,  that  they  might  devote 
all  their  energies  to  the  discipline  of  the  soul.  He  was 
listened  to  with  coldness. 

He  spent  the  night  in  tears  and  prayer.  His  sobs  were 
audible  throughout  the  house  where  he  lodged.  Next  day 
he  preached  again,  and  "  converted  "  numerous  scholars, — 
that  is,  persuaded  them  to  become  monks. 

But  these  wide  excursions  were  quite  exceptional  with 
Bernard  at  this  period.  At  a  later  epoch  of  his  life,  when 
he  shared  in,  or  guided,  every  important  event  that  occurred 


*- 


S.  BERNARD  OF   CLAIRVAUX.     After  Cahier. 


Aug.,  p.  200.] 


[Aug.  20. 


*■ 


August ».]  ^-  Bernard.  201 


in  the  Church,  he  overran  the  greater  part  of  Europe  more 
than  once.  But  at  this  time,  and  for  a  few  years  after 
this,  he  was  still  a  secluded  monk  of  a  new  and  humble 
Order. 

His  influence  was,  however,  slowly  spreading,  and  the 
commencement  was  being  laid  of  that  authority  and  estima- 
tion which  enabled  him  to  take  the  chief  part  in  quelling  a 
widespread  schism,  and  in  giving  the  strongest  impulse  to 
the  Second  Crusade. 

The  chief  means  by  which,  at  this  time,  Bernard's  power 
and  importance  were  felt,  was  his  vigorous  and  persevering 
correspondence.  He  was  the  most  indefatigable  of  letter- 
writers.  He  flTites  to  persons  of  all  classes,  on  all  subjects, 
ranging  from  the  most  spiritual  raptures  of  an  ecstatic  soul 
down  to  the  stealing  of  pigs. 

Pope  Honorius  H.  died  in  1130.  As  the  faction  and 
party  spirit  at  Rome  had  so  often  penetrated  into  the  Sacred 
College,  and  produced  the  most  scandalous  results,  the 
Cardinals  had  agreed  that  the  election  of  a  new  Pope 
should  be  confided  to  eight  of  their  number,  chosen  with 
the  express  purpose  of  avoiding  disputes.  But  although 
William,  Bishop  of  Prteneste,  made  them  bind  themselve; 
under  pains  of  an  anathema  to  respect  this  convention, 
although  the  ambitious  Peter  Leonis  declared  his  adhesion 
to  it,  it  became  evident  that  neither  party  intended  to 
observe  the  conditions  longer  than  it  suited  their  con- 
venience, as  a  cloak  to  their  intrigues.  Peter  Leonis  was 
at  the  head  of  the  strongest  party  in  Rome,  and  the  largest 
in  the  conclave,  but  in  the  committee  just  nominated,  his 
fHends  were  in  the  minority.  A  report  was  spread  that 
Honorius  was  dead.  Peter  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  troop 
of  friends,  and,  if  the  dying  Pontiff  had  not  been  dragged 
to  a  window,  and  shown  to  the  people,  it  is  probable  that 
he  would   have   stolen  a  march  on   the  other  party,  and 

►J< — 4« 


>ii — 

202  Lives  of  the  Saints,  f^ugust  ,o 


-* 


gained  the  chair  of  S.  Peter  by  the  rapidity  of  his  move- 
ments. But  when  the  Pope  did  die,  the  other  party 
concealed  the  fact  from  the  adherents  of  Peter  Leonis,  and 
hastily  elected  Gregory,  Cardinal  of  S.  Angelo,  under  the 
name  of  Innocent  II.  The  party  of  Peter  forthwith 
remonsti-ated,  elected  Peter,  and  declared  that  he,  under 
the  title  of  Anacletus  II.,  was  the  true  Vicar  of  Christ. 

Rome  now  contained  two  armies  of  ferocious  partisans, 
who  soon  mingled  their  spiritual  threats  with  devastation 
and  bloodshed.  Innocent  II.  fled  to  France  ;  he  was  at 
once  acknowledged  as  the  rightful  Pope  by  the  monks  of 
Cluny.  But  the  French  king  and  bishops  were  undecided 
which  was  the  true  head  of  the  Church  ;  and  it  was  resolved 
that  S.  Bernard  should  stand  umpire  between  the  respective 
claims  of  Innocent  and  Anacletus.  A  council  was  sum- 
moned at  Etampes,  and  Bernard  pronounced  in  favour  of 
Innocent.  Louis  VI.  and  the  French  bishops  bowed  to  his 
decision,  and  did  homage  to  Innocent.  Bernard  now,  with 
all  the  vehemence  of  his  nature,  took  up  the  side  of  the 
Pope  who  owed  his  recognition  to  his  decision,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  urge  on  Henry  I.  of  England,  and  on  the 
German  Emperor,  the  claims  of  this  Pope.  The  com- 
manding character  of  Bernard  everywhere  gained  allegiance 
to  Innocent.  Bernard  proceeded  to  Italy  with  the  Pope, 
proclaiming  that  Anacletus  was  Antichrist,  and  the  Beast  of 
the  Apocalypse,  and  that  the  only  rightful,  true  Vicar  of 
Christ  on  Earth  was  Innocent. 

But  Bernard  began  to  feel  that  his  absence  from  home 

could  not  be  prolonged  without  grave  disadvantage  both  to 

himself  and  his  flock  at  Clairvaux.     During  the  four  years 

spent  in  furthering  the  cause  of  the   Pope,  he  could  only 

have  given  Clairvaux  a  {qw  hasty  visits.     It  is  supposed  that 

he  returned  thither  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1135.    His 

long-expected  advent  was  the  cause  of  the  deepest  joy  to 

his  friends  and  monks.     And  not  only  to  them.     Such  was 
* ^ 


i:^- 


_ ^ 

August  20.]  '5'.  Bernard.  203 

the  renown  for  superhuman  hoHness  which  by  this  time  had 
filled  all  Europe  with  his  name,  that  wherever  he  passed, 
even  the  shepherds  came  from  the  hills,  the  rustics  from  their 
fields,  to  implore  his  blessing.  When  he  reached  Langres, 
he  was  met  by  a  company  from  Clairvaux,  who,  with 
embraces  and  tears  of  gladness,  led  him  home.  The  whole 
convent  was  assembled  to  receive  its  abbot.  There  was  no 
tumult  or  undisciplined  demonstrativeness  in  their  joy,  but 
a  great  gravity,  through  which  shone  the  deep  glow  of 
intense  love.  During  the  abbot's  long  absence,  no  strifes, 
troubles,  scandals,  had  arisen.  There  were  no  discussions 
or  disputes  awaiting  Bernard's  return ;  no  hatreds  nursed  up 
against  the  day  of  reckoning.  Old  and  young,  rich  and 
poor,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  knight  and  the  serf,  were  all 
living  in  amity  and  Christian  brotherhood.  Bernard,  we  are 
told,  was  moved  to  great  humbleness  by  this  proof  of  God's 
favour.  The  fact  that  the  work  of  his  hands  seemed  to 
prosper  filled  him  with  a  certain  reverential  awe,  not  with 
vainglory.  In  fact,  his  humility  generally  strikes  his 
biographer,  Arnold  of  Bonnevaux,  as  the  most  remarkable 
of  his  many  wonderful  gifts. 

"  When  he  was  a  chosen  vessel,  and  announced  the  name 
of  Christ  before  nations  and  kings ;  when  the  princes 
of  this  world  bowed  down  to  him,  and  the  bishops  of  all 
lands  awaited  his  bidding ;  when  even  the  Holy  See  revered 
his  advice,  and  made  him  a  sort  of  general  legate  to  the 
world  ;  when,  greatest  of  all,  his  words  and  acts  were  con- 
firmed by  miracles,  he  was  never  puffed  up,  but  in  all 
humility  considered  himself  tlie  minister,  not  the  author  of 
mighty  works  \  and  when  every  one  thought  him  the  greatest, 
in  his  own  judgment  he  was  the  least.  Whatsoever  he  did  he 
ascribed  to  God.  He  saw,  and  felt,  that  he  could  neither 
wish  nor  perform  any  good  thing  without  the  inspiration  of 
God." 

Yet  he  was  the  most  self-confident  of  men  in  following 


q, q* 

204  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  «>. 


his  own  opinion,  and  disregarded  whatever  claims  interfered 
with  his  pre-judgment.  This  was  conspicuous  enough  in  the 
matter  of  the  election  of  the  Bishop  of  Langres,  and  in  the 
case  of  S.  William  of  York. 

Whilst  S.  Bernard  was  at  Rome,  in  1157,  the  Archbishop 
of  Lyons,  and  the  Dean  and  a  Canon  of  Langres,  came 
thither,  the  two  latter  to  beg  permission  for  the  Chapter  to 
elect  a  Bishop  to  the  See  of  Langres.  Bernard  at  once 
coveted  the  see  for  one  of  his  Clairvaux  monks,  and 
endeavoured  to  force  the  dean  and  canon  to  promise  only 
to  elect  such  a  man  as  was  approved  by  himself,  and  the 
Archbishop  to  undertake  only  to  consecrate  the  man  chosen 
in  accordance  with  Bernard's  wishes.  This  preposterous 
demand  surprised  the  prelate  and  dean ;  they  yielded  a 
seeming  assent ;  but,  returning  to  France,  the  Chapter  of 
Langres  elected  a  Cluniac,  not  a  Clairvaux,  monk.  Ber- 
nard's wrath  knew  no  bounds.  He  denounced  the  bishop 
elect  as  a  "man  of  whom  he  had  bad  reports  ;"  designated 
the  election  *'  a  nefarious  business."  He  hastened  to  Lyons 
to  threaten  or  convince  the  Archbishop.  That  prelate  at 
once  yielded,  saying,  he  would  follow  Bernard's  will  against 
his  own  judgment.  "Nay,"  said  Bernard,  who  had  no 
scruple  but  that  his  opinion  was  directly  inspired,  "  not 
mine,  but  God's  will  be  done." 

The  bishop-elect  in  the  meantime  appealed  to  the  king, 
who,  finding  that  the  election  had  been  conducted  canoni- 
cally  by  the  chapter,  invested  him  with  the  temporalities  of 
the  see.  Bernard  wrote  off  to  the  Pope  ;  his  first  letter  was 
followed  rapidly  by  others ;  his  wrath  and  indignation 
waxing  hotter ;  indeed,  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life 
he  never  used  more  unmeasured,  more  unbecoming,  or 
more  unjust  language  than  he  did  in  this  matter.  Two 
things  are  evident ;  that  his  first  appeal  to  Rome  was  dis- 
regarded, and  secondly,  that  Bernard  would  leave  no  stone 


*- 


-»5r 


August  aa] 


.S.  Bernard.  205 


unturned  to  damage  the  character  of  any  bishop-elect  who 
was  not  a  Clairvaux  monk.  To  respect  and  acknowledge 
this  bishop  was  to  "  bow  the  knee  to  Baal,"  "  to  make  a 
covenant  with  death,  and  with  hell  to  conclude  an  agree- 
ment." 

Peter  of  Cluny,  or  Peter  the  Venerable,  one  of  the  most 
gentle,  loving  characters  the  Middle  Ages  present  to  us, 
wrote  to  Bernard  a  letter  of  reproof  He  says  that  the 
monk  who  was  elected  had  been  under  him  for  long,  and 
that  he  was  a  good,  humble-minded  man,  and  had  been 
canonically  elected  by  the  chapter.  If  Bernard  had  heard 
rumours  against  his  character,  he  ought  not  to  have  listened 
to  them,  much  less  have  blazoned  them  abroad,  till  he  had 
inquired  whether  there  was  an  atom  of  truth  in  them.  As 
it  was,  they  were  calumnies,  wholly  baseless  \  and  Peter  was 
sure  to  know  this  better  than  any  one  else,  for  he  was  abbot 
of  the  monastery  in  which  the  bishop-elect  had  long  lived. 
"  It  was  unworthy  of  you,  or  of  any  good  man,  to  believe 
manifest  foes  of  ours  ;  to  give  credence  to  declared  enemies 
of  Cluny.  In  the  freedom  of  conversation  I  could  have  at 
once  explained  the  whole  matter  to  you,  and  have  shown  you 
what  a  cloud  of  falsehood,  rising  from  the  pit  of  darkness, 
has  tried  to  obscure  the  bright  surface  of  your  mind.  Do 
not  fear  that,  as  a  Cluniac,  this  monk  will  not  love  Cister- 
cians. Discard  such  a  thought.  A  monk  will  love  monks. 
The  Bishop  of  Langres,  as  he  has  been  a  monk,  will  love 
Cistercians  and  all  monks,  because  he  knows  that  love  is 
gain  and  hatred  loss.  Nor  will  a  monk  of  mine  dare  to 
differ  from  me,  when  he  sees  how  I  love  you." 

This  firm  yet  kindly  letter  made  no  impression  on  Ber- 
nard. He  had  his  prepossessions,  his  will  was,  he  did  not 
doubt  it,  God's  will.  He  sneered  at  the  gentle  Abbot  of 
Cluny,  as  "  boasting  himself  in  the  multitude  of  his  riches, 
and  lifting  himself  on  high  to  withstand  me,  and  not  me 

^ — >^ 


-* 


2o6  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  20. 

only,  but  the  servants  of  God— even  God  himself,  all  jus- 
tice and  honour."  The  Pope,  the  cardinals,  the  bishops, 
yielded  to  the  violence  of  Bernard,  and  Bernard  obtained 
the  deposition  of  the  Cluniac  monk  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  kinsman,  Godfrey,  a  monk  of  Clairvaux,  in  his 
room. 

Another  instance  of  Bernard's  intemperance  of  language 
and  action  was  that  of  S.  William  of  York.  William,  nephew 
of  King  Stephen,  had  been  elected  to  the  Archbishopric  of 
York  ;  but  Bernard  was  anxious  to  see  this  important  throne 
occupied  by  one  of  his  own  Clairvaux  monks,  named 
Henry  Murdac,  whom  a  minority  in  the  chapter  had  shown 
a  disposition  to  favour.  Bernard  wrote  furiously  against 
S.  William,  charging  him  with  ambition — of  worse  than 
ambition — of  simony  ;  and  condemning  him  to  everlasting 
perdition.  Innocent  II.  ordered  the  Bishop  of  Winchester 
to  act  as  his  legate  in  England,  and  try  the  case.  Those 
who  had  accused  S.  William  did  not  venture  to  appear  and 
state  their  libellous  charges  openly  before  him.  The  legate 
at  once  consecrated  S.  William.  At  this  time  Innocent  II., 
who  had  for  some  time  writhed  under  the  dictation  of 
Bernard,  was  estranged  from  him,  and  unwilling  to  depose 
an  innocent  man  from  his  archbishopric  merely  that  an 
unknown,  ignorant  Clairvaux  monk  might  occupy  it. 

But  Innocent  died  (a.d.  1143),  and  when,  in  a.d.  J145, 
Bernard  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  disciple  of  his  own,  a 
Cistercian  monk,  on  the  Papal  throne,  no  difficulty  was 
made  in  flinging  down  S.  William  from  the  coveted  seat, 
which  had  been  confirmed  to  him  by  Lucius  II.,  and 
exalting  the  obscure  Clairvaux  monk  in  his  room.  The 
Chapter  of  York  were  ill-pleased  at  this  act,  and  the  citizens 
of  the  town  shut  their  gates  against  the  intruded  archbishop. 
Murdac  died  the  same  year  as  Eugenius  III.,  a.d.  1153, 
and  S.  William  then  quietly  resumed  his  office,  amidst  the 


*- 


*- 


August  aa] 


6'.  Bernard. 


207 


rejoicings  of  an  enthusiastic  people.  He  was  canonized  by 
Honorius  III.^ 

These  are  instances,  and  sad  ones,  of  how  the  best  and 
humblest  of  men  may  forget  the  broad  principles  of  justice 
and  charity  if  carried  away  by  ambition  for  the  advancement 
of  a  cause  on  which  he  has  set  his  heart. 

Bernard  was  almost  as  unjust  in  his  treatment  of  Abelard. 
This  distinguished  thinker  saw  that  the  awakening  mind  in 
Europe  would  no  longer  rest  satisfied  with  blind  acceptance 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  without  being  made  to  see 
that  there  was  reason  in  them.  He  attempted  to  show  that 
there  was  a  philosophy  in  Christian  belief.  S.  Anselm  had 
done  the  same.  But  Bernard,  who  had  resolutely  trodden 
down  the  cravings  of  his  mind  for  intellectual  activity, 
when  first  these  secret  springs  had  begun  to  gush  forth, 
would  not  tolerate  for  an  hour  such  a  position  as  that  the  Faith 
demanded  the  support  of  Reason.  In  Bernard's  eyes,  the 
intellect,  if  not  carefully  guided  and  controlled,  was  not 
a  friend,  but  a  foe,  to  man's  welfare ;  not  a  pole-star  to  lead 
him,  but  a  jack  o'  lantern  to  deceive  him  To  resist  its 
questions  and  doubts  was  part  of  a  good  man's  duty.  They 
were  carnal  and  devilish,  even  as  are  the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 
Truth  had  been  given  to  man,  once  and  for  ever,  in  the 
teaching  of  the  Church.  No  conclusions  of  the  mind  could 
add  to  its  certainty  ;  none  could  diminish  it.  It  was  there, 
accessible  and  intelligible  to  all,  absolute,  complete,  and 
final.  It  had  overarched  man's  life  for  hundreds  of  years 
now,  capacious  and  durable  as  the  great  vault  of  heaven. 

A  conflict  between  S.  Bernard  and  Abelard  was  inevitable. 
Neither  could  understand  the  other,  neither  attempted  to  do 
so.  The  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  scattered  broad-cast  over 
Europe  his  fiery  appeals  to  Pope,  cardinals,  princes,  and 
bishops,  to  assist   in   crushing   this   Arius,    Pelagius,   and 

*  See  June  8,  pp.  8a — 86. 


*- 


-* 


»J( — ^ 

208  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August  aa 

Nestorius,  rolled  into  one.  With  a  cry  almost  of  anguish 
Bernard  confessed  that  Abelard  had  his  admirers  and 
followers  even  among  the  cardinals  of  the  papal  court.  The 
two  chiefs  were  watching  each  other  as  they  closed  for 
battle.  War  had  begun,  but  was  not  yet  openly  declared. 
Abelard  resolved  to  anticipate  the  attack.  He  sought 
Henry,  Bishop  of  Soissons,  and  demanded  to  be  heard 
publicly  before  an  assembly,  on  being  confronted  with  his 
pertinacious  accuser. 

It  was  published  far  and  wide  that  a  fierce  logical  combat 
was  going  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  council  which  was 
summoned  to  meet  at  Sens,  a  contest  between  the  cold 
philosopher  and  the  fiery  mystic.  Nothing  in  modern  life 
can  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  interest  and  excitement 
such  an  announcement  would  produce. 

The  original  object  of  the  meeting  at  Sens  was  a  ceremony 
of  unrivalled  popular  interest  in  the  Middle  Ages — an 
exhibition  of  certain  supremely  sacred  relics  to  the  eyes  and 
adoration  of  the  multitude.  King  Louis  VII.  was  present; 
and  a  crowd  of  bishops,  abbots,  and  grandees  from  the 
northern  parts  of  France  was  assembled.  The  first  day  of 
the  council  was  taken  up  with  the  inspection  and  adoration 
of  the  sacred  relics,  and  the  consideration  of  a  vision 
respecting  the  rebuilding  of  the  archbishop's  palace,  which 
had  been  vouchsafed  to  a  young  canon. 

Abelard  entered  on  the  second  day,  and  found  himself  at 
once  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  crowd.  He  stopped  in  the 
centre  of  the  building,  and  found  himself  opposite  Bernard, 
who  occupied  a  pulpit,  which  was  in  existence  up  to  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution,  holding  before  him  the 
incriminated  work  of  Abelard. 

A  clerk  was  ordered  to  read  the  passages  Bernard  had 
marked  as  heretical.  Berengar  of  Poitiers  in  an  "  Apology  " 
describes  the  scene. 

^ ^ 


THE   VISION   OF   S.    BERNARD. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  appearing  to  S.  Bernard  and  relating  her  history. 
After  a  Fresco  by  Filippino  Lippi,  at  Badia,  Florence. 


Aug.,  p.  208.] 


[Aug. 


»J(- ^ * 

August «.]  ^-  Bernard,  209 

"  After  dinner  Peter  (Abelard's)  book  was  brought  in,  and 
somebody  was  told  to  read  it  in  a  loud  voice.  The 
fellow  ....  bellowed  out  louder  than  he  was  asked 
to  do.  Presently  one  saw  the  pontiffs  insult  Abelard  by 
applauding  with  their  feet,  laughing,  and  playing  the  fool, 
praising  among  themselves  the  cups,  the  wine,  that  had 
moistened  the  episcopal  throats.  Their  hearts  were  dro\vned 
in  the  sleepy  fluid.  When,  during  the  reading,  anything 
subtle  and  divine,  and  unusual  to  their  ears  was  heard,  they 
gnashed  their  teeth  at  Peter  (Abelard) ;  and  the  moles, 
judging  a  philosopher,  exclaimed,  '  Shall  we  suffer  this 
wretch  to  live  ?'  Wagging  their  heads,  they  said,  like  the 
Jews  of  old,  '  He  destroyeth  the  temple.'  ....  The 
fumes  of  wine  had  so  filled  their  brains,  that  the  eyes  of  all 
were  drooping  from  sleep.  Still  the  reader  droned  on  ;  the 
assembly  snored.  One  rested  on  his  elbow,  another  pro- 
cured a  cushion,  a  third  took  his  nap  with  his  head  on  his 
knees.  So  when  the  reader  came  on  some  difficult  passage, 
he  called  to  the  deaf  ears  of  the  bishops,  *  Dam?iaiis  ?  Do 
ye  condemn  this  ?'  Hardly  awake  at  the  last  syllable,  in  a 
drowsy  voice,  and  with  hanging  heads  they  muttered 
*  Damnaffius.'  Others,  however,  roused  by  the  noise  of  the 
damners,  decapitated  the  word,  and  said  '  Nanms.' " 

It  was  hard,  on  a  hot  day  in  June,  after  a  heavy  dinner, 
to  be  called  on  to  hear  abstruse  philosophy  read  hour  after 
hour.  The  scene,  no  doubt,  is  vastly  overdrawn,  but  there 
is  probably  a  ground  of  truth  in  it. 

No  wonder  Abelard  refused  to  argue  his  case  before  an 
assembly  which  was  not  capable  of  understanding  his  pro- 
positions and  deductions.  His  philosophic  arguments  were 
uninteUigible  to  the  majority  of  the  hearers  ;  nor  were  they 
presented  in  their  sequence  and  entirety.  Bernard  had 
picked  out  isolated  sentences,  here  and  there,  and  had,  at 
least  in  one  case,  given  as  Abelard's  words  what  he  had 

VOL.  IX.  14 

^ — >J4 


2IO  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  ao. 

never  written,  but  which  the  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  thought 
might  be  gathered  out  of  his  words.* 

Abelard  rose  from  his  seat,  declined  to  hear  more,  or 
answer  any  questions,  and  appealed  to  Rome. 

S.  Bernard's  friends  at  once  proclaimed  that  when  the 
heretic  should  have  found  his  mind  clearest  and  strongest, 
sudden  darkness,  confusion,  and  paralysis  fell  upon  him — 
that  the  refusal  of  Abelard  to  plead  against  Bernard  was  a 
miracle.  But  it  is  easy  to  see  the  reason  of  this  silence. 
In  vain  would  a  deep  thinker  argue  before  a  slumbering 
audience — an  audience  of  men,  good  and  pious  enough,  no 
doubt,  but  utterly  incapacitated  by  want  of  mental  training 
for  following  an  intellectual  discussion.  The  votes  of  his 
philosophic  friends  would  be  completely  swamped  by  the 
voices  of  the  dull  majority,  eager  in  a  matter  they  were 
unable  to  understand  to  condemn  a  man  on  the  accusation 
of  heresy,  lest  their  own  orthodoxy  should  be  called  in 
question.  An  appeal  to  Rome  caused  delay  and  difficulty  to 
his  opponents.  And  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  manoeuvre 
partly  succeeded. 

The  assembly  at  Sens  was  in  no  small  perplexity  as  to  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  Pope  Innocent  owed  much  to 
Bernard,  but  he  could  hardly  fail  to  be  impatient  at  the 
incessant  dictation  from  Clairvaux ;  and  indeed  very  shortly 
after  these  events,  he  did  break  off  friendly  relations  with 
him. 

Peter  Abelard,  on  his  way  to  Rome  with  his  appeal, 
rested  at  Cluny.  The  gentle,  dove-like  Peter  the  Venerable, 
was  still  abbot  there.  He  saw  an  old  man,  broken  by  mis- 
fortune, misunderstood  by  an  age  of  which  he  was  by 
centuries  in  advance,  hunted  down  by  implacable  foes,  eager 

'  "  The  words  which  S.  Bernard  cites  as  the  verba  ipsissima  of  Abelard  are  not 
word  for  word  either  in  his  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  nor  in  the 
copy  of  the  Sentences,  published  by  Rheinwald." — Hefele,  Concilien  Geschichte, 
vii.  §  6i6. 


* 


August «.]  S.Bernard.  211 


for  his  condemnation  and  excommunication.  He  spread 
his  wing  over  him,  and  sheltered  him  at  Cluny,  and  there, 
not  long  after,  the  active  and  audacious  mind  entered  on  its 
final  rest.     Abelard  died  in  1142. 

S.  Bernard  was  now  summoned  to  preach  the  second 
Crusade.  He  was  at  this  period  fifty-five  years  of  age,  and 
old  for  his  years.  The  last  fifteen  years  had  been  full  of 
heavy  labour  and  gnawing  care.  Eight  of  worry  about  the 
schism,  three  journeys  to  Rome,  the  controversy  with 
Abelard,  and  vexations  arising  from  the  political  quarrels  in 
France,  in  which  he  was  called  to  intervene.  He  had  hoped 
now  to  rest,  and  spend  his  declining  days  in  peace,  among 
the  beech  woods  and  by  the  brook  of  Clairvaux,  But  it  was 
not  to  be  so. 

He  was  summoned  by  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  France 
from  his  retreat  to  stir  up  the  languid  zeal  of  Christian  men 
for  the  Crusades.  At  Easter,  1146,  he  was  at  Vezelai,  to 
attend  a  great  assembly  on  this  subject.  Pale  and  at- 
tenuated to  a  degree  which  seemed  almost  supernatural,  his 
contemporaries  discovered  something  in  the  mere  glance  of 
his  eyes  which  filled  them  with  wonder  and  awe.  That  he 
was  kept  alive  at  all  appeared  to  them  a  perpetual  miracle  ; 
and  when  the  light  from  that  thin,  calm  face  fell  on  them, 
when  the  voice  flew  from  those  firm  lips  like  fire  flakes,  all 
the  hearers  flamed  with  zeal,  and  were  no  longer  masters  of 
their  feelings.  When  from  a  machine  of  wood,  erected  on  a 
hill  top,  Bernard  addressed  the  mighty  crowd,  a  murmur, 
then  a  roar,  rose  from  the  sea  of  upturned  faces,  "  Crosses, 
Crosses  !"  and  Bernard  began  to  scatter  broadcast  among 
the  people  the  large  sheaf  of  them  which  had  been  brought 
for  that  purpose.  They  were  soon  exhausted.  He  was 
obliged  to  tear  up  his  monk's  cowl  to  satisfy  the  demand. 

The  summer  of  T146  was  spent  in  France.  Towards 
autumn  Bernard  began  to  enter  on  the  less  known  field  of 

\x — 2 

^ ^ 


^ : .J, 

2 1 2  Lives  of  the  Saints.  jAugust  «,. 

Germany.  The  German  nation  had,  up  to  this  period, 
taken  a  much  less  active  part  in  the  Crusades  than  the 
French,  and  it  was  beHeved  that  the  Emperor  Conrad  III. 
was  strongly  opposed  to  the  present  expedition.  S.  Bernard 
therefore  prepared  for  a  grand  effort.  Freiburg,  Basle, 
Constance,  Spires,  Cologne,  Frankfort,  Mainz,  and  numerous 
otlier  towns  of  north-western  Germany  were  visited  and 
preached  in  by  him.  A  daily  repetition  took  place  of  the 
same  phenomena — the  simultaneous  rush  of  the  whole 
population  to  see  and  hear  him  ;  and  then  the  assumption 
of  the  cross  by  the  greater  portion  of  the  able-bodied  male 
inhabitants.  Bernard  himself  says  that  scarcely  one  man 
was  left  to  seven  women;  castles,  towns,  were  deserted. 
The  general  excitement  broke  out  along  the  Rhine  and 
Moselle  in  the  massacre  of  Jews.  Bernard  fiew  to  Mainz 
to  protect  the  unfortunate  Hebrews,  and  direct  into  another 
channel  the  premature  and  ill-governed  zeal  of  the  Christian 
enthusiasts. 

In  1 147  the  Crusaders  started;  the  Germans  first,  the 
French  afterwards.  The  Germans  were  commanded  by  their 
Emperor,  Conrad,  the  French  by  their  King,  Louis.  Byzan- 
tine agents  attempted  to  count  the  Crusaders  at  the  passage 
of  a  river;  after  a  tale  of  nine  hundred  thousand,  they 
desisted  from  the  endless  and  formidable  computation.  The 
cavalry  of  the  Emperor  and  King  was  each  composed  of 
seventy  thousand  knights  and  their  immediate  attendants. 
What  the  whole  swarm  numbered  cannot  be  told.  Odo  of 
Deuil  says  nine  hundred  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
six.  The  Mohammedans  say  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand. 
These  extravagant  reckonings  prove  only  the  astonishment 
of  contemporaries,  and  also,  that  Bernard  by  his  preaching 
had  sent  to  the  East  probably  the  majority  of  the  hale, 
able-bodied  men  of  Western  Europe.  Not  one  tithe  of  that 
vast  horde  ever  reached  the  Holy  Land.     They  died  either 


August  30.] 


6".  Bernard.  213 


of  disease,  starvation,  or  by  the  swords  of  the  Moslems,  in 
Asia  Minor.  Louis  and  Conrad  deserted  the  unwieldy 
crowd  at  Attalia,  and  hasted  by  boat  first  to  Antioch,  and 
then  home  in  confusion  and  despondency.  Of  those  who 
survived,  great  numbers,  to  save  their  lives,  embraced  the 
Mohammedan  faith. 

When  Louis,  crestfallen  and  vanquished,  re-entered  to  his 
kingdom,  as  it  were  by  stealth,  grief  and  lamentation 
possessed  the  land.  There  was  not  a  family  which  did  not 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  relative.  And  presently  the  popular 
indignation  rose  against  S.  Bernard  as  the  author  of  this  vast 
calamity.  Why  did  he  preach  this  Crusade  ?  Why  prophesy 
its  success?    Why  work  miracles  to  make  people  join  it  ? 

Bernard  wrote  an  Apology.  All  the  blame  he  flung  upon 
the  Crusaders  themselves.  The  shameful,  miserable  failure 
was  the  result  of  their  sins.  But  his  disappointment  and 
impatience  breaks  out  in  some  of  his  remarks  :  "  Do  not 
the  Gentiles  say,  Where  is  now  their  God  ?  And  who  can 
wonder  ?  The  sons  of  the  Church,  the  men  called  Chris- 
tians, have  been  overthrown  in  the  desert,  slain  with  the 
sword,  or  destroyed  by  famine.  We  promised  good  things, 
and  behold  disorder  !  As  though  we  had  been  guilty  of 
rashness  or  levity  in  that  undertaking.  And  yet  \vith  no 
uncertainty  did  I  run  that  course,  but  at  your  command" — 
he  is  addressing  the  Pope,  Eugenius  IIL — "or  rather  at  the 
command  of  God  through  you.  The  judgments  of  the  Lord 
are  righteous,  as  each  of  us  knows  ;  this  one  is  an  abyss  so 
deep,  that  I  dare  to  pronounce  him  blessed  who  is  not 
scandalized  at  it." 

The  time  of  Bernard's  end  drew  nigh.  In  1153,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two,  he  fell  asleep.  He  had  no  wish  to  remain. 
When,  in  accordance  with  his  beautiful  faith,  he  attributed 
a  slight  recovery  to  the  prayers  of  his  sorrowing  monks,  he 
said  to  them,  "  Why  do  ye  thus  detain  a  miserable  man  ? 


-* 


*- 


214  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  ao. 

You  are  stronger,  and  you  prevail  against  me.  Spare  me, 
spare  me,  and  let  me  depart."  The  unwearied  activity  of 
spirit  which  had  hitherto  distinguished  him,  gradually  faded 
away ;  the  restless  brain,  which  had  influenced  more  or  less 
every  question  and  event  in  Europe  for  a  whiole  generation, 
fell  by  degrees  into  peaceful  repose.  Public  affairs  ceased 
to  interest  him.  When  his  cousin,  the  Bishop  of  Langres, 
came  to  him  about  some  business,  he  found  he  could  not 
attract  Bernard's  attention.  "  Marvel  not,"  said  the  expiring 
saint,  "  I  am  already  no  longer  of  this  world."  The  Bishop 
of  Langres  by  his  dying  couch  !  One  of  his  great  mistakes 
and  wrongs  present  before  his  closing  eyes.  Did  he  see 
then  the  error  he  had  committed,  and  regret  it  ?  We  can- 
not say.  The  weeping  multitude  of  his  friends,  in  the 
delirium  of  grief,  implored  him  not  to  leave  them,  to  have 
pity  on  them,  and  to  stay  with  them.  The  last  earthly 
struggle  he  ever  knew  had  commenced  in  Bernard's  soul. 
Things  temporal  and  things  eternal,  his  earthly  and  his 
heavenly  home,  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  man  con- 
tended within  him.  But  for  a  moment.  Raising  up  his 
"  dove-like  eyes,"  he  said  he  wished  that  God's  will  might 
be  done.     It  was,  for  he  was  dead. 

"  After  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well." 
S.  Bernard  was  a  man  of  one  object — the  glory  of  God- 
That  he  made  mistakes — and  he  made  great  ones ; — that  he 
was  carried  away  by  his  zeal  to  commit  injustices,  to  speak 
intemperately,  to  advocate  a  false,  disastrous  policy,  was  the 
fault,  not  of  his  heart,  but  of  his  head.  What  he  thought 
was  right,  he  did  with  all  his  might ;  he  turned  neither  to 
the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left  from  what  he  supposed  was 
his  duty.  That  he  sonietimes  erred  in  his  judgment,  what 
does  it  prove  ?  That  he  w&s  human.  The  saints  of  God 
are  not  those  who  never  made  mistakes,  but  are  those  of 
singleness  of  aim. 


4<- 


-* 


^ __ (^ 

August  ^]  ^-  Ronald.  2 1 5 

The  body  of  S.  Bernard  was  preserved  at  Clairvaux  till 
the  French  Revolution,  when  the  abbot  concealed  the  skull, 
and  placed  on  it  his  seal.  The  bones  of  the  saint  were 
carried  off  and  protected  from  insult  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbourhood,  who  concealed  them  at  Ville-sous-la- 
Ferte.  There  the  bones  remain  to  this  aay,  but  the  skull 
is  in  the  Cathedral  of  Troyes. 

The  scanty  remains  of  Clairvaux  are  turned  into  a  prison, 
The  cellar  and  the  refectory  are  the  most  remarkable  frag- 
ments of  the  ancient  abbey  that  still  exist.  In  the  forest  is 
a  spring  called  the  fountain  of  S.  Bernard,  to  which,  on 
Tuesday  after  Low  Sunday,  every  year  a  procession  is  made. 
A  cross  has  been  erected  on  this  spot  by  the  prisoners,  in 
honour  of  the  saint. 

S.  Bernard  is  represented  in  art  with  a  hive  of  bees,  partly 
because  he  is  the  "  Doctor  Mellifluus,"  but  also  because 
Clairvaux,  which  he  presided  over,  was  like  a  hive,  in  which 
all  his  monks  were  busy  as  bees. 


S.    RONALD,     M. 
(a.d.  1158.) 

[Canonized  by  Pope  Coelestina  III.,  in  1192.     Of  local  veneration  in 
Orkney.     Authority  : — 'ITie  Orkneyinga  Saga.] 

Thorfinn,  Earl  of  Orkney,  had  two  sons — Paul,  who 
died  in  1098,  and  Erlendr,  who  died  in  the  same  year. 

Erlendr  had  two  sons — Erling,  who  was  slain  in  Ireland, 
and  S.  Magnus,  Earl  of  Orkney,  slain  in  11 15. 

Gunnhild,  daughter  of  Erlendr,  married  Kol  Kalisson,  and 
their  son  Kali,  afterwards  called  Rognvald,  is  the  subject  of 
this  memoir. 

* — — i^ 


* ____ ^ 

I 

2i6  .      Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  aa 

Paul,  Earl  of  Orkney,  had  also  children.  His  son 
Hakon  became  Earl,  and  died  about  1128  ;  leaving  Harald, 
Slettmali,  Paul  Earl  of  Orkney,  and  Margaret,  who  married 
Maddad,  Earl  of  Athole.  Margaret  became  the  mother  of 
Harald  Maddadson,  who  married  Afreka,  sister  of  Duncan, 
Earl  of  Fife. 

Kol  Kalisson,  the  husband  of  Gunnhild,  daughter  of  Earl 
Erlandr  of  Orkney,  lived  on  his  estates  at  Agdir,  in  Norway, 
and  it  was  there  that  his  son  Kali  grew  up  to  man's  estate. 
"He  was  of  middle  size,"  says  the  Saga-writer,  "well  pro- 
portioned, and  very  handsomely  shaped  ;  his  hair  was  of  a 
light  auburn  colour.  He  was  very  affable  and  popular,  and 
highly  accomplished.     He  made  the  following  verses : — 

"At  the  game-board  I  am  skilful ; 
Knowing  in  no  less  than  nine  arts ; 
Runic  lore  I  well  remember  ; 
Books  I  like  ;  with  tools  I'm  handy ; 
Expert  am  I  on  the  snow-shoes, 
With  the  bow,  and  pull  an  oar  well ; 
And,  besides,  I  am  an  adept 
At  the  harp,  and  making  verses.' 

When  aged  fifteen  he  went  wuh  some  merchants  to  Eng- 
land, taking  with  him  a  cargo  of  merchandize.  The  ship 
took  harbour  at  Grimsby,  and  Kali  was  not  struck  with  the 
attractions  of  the  place.  He  made  verses  about  Grimsby 
when  he  left  it,  not  complimentary  certainly : — 

"  Unpleasantly  we  have  been  wading 
In  the  mud  a  weary  five  weeks. 
Dirt  we  had  indeed  in  plenty. 
While  we  lay  in  Grimsby  harbour. 
But  now  on  the  moor  of  sea-gulls 
Ride  we  o'er  the  hills  of  billow, 
Gaily  as  the  elk  of  bowsprits 
Eastward  ploughs  its  way  to  Bergen." 

One  summer  Kali  went  to  Throndheim  on  the  Norwegian 

* ^ 


*- 


August    30.] 


^S".  Ronald.  217 


coast.  He  was  detained  by  weather  in  an  island  called 
Dolls,  where  was  a  cave  bearing  an  ill  name  as  the  haunt 
of  Trolls,  who,  it  was  said,  had  there  amassed  a  heap  of 
treasure. 

Kali  determined  to  explore  the  cave.  He  and  another 
man  penetrated  far,  till  they  came  to  a  sheet  of  water.  They 
fastened  a  rope  between  them,  placed  a  torch  in  a  pat  of 
clay  on  their  heads,  and  swam  across  the  subterranean  lake. 
On  reaching  the  further  shore  they  found  no  treasure,  could 
penetrate  no  further,  and  thought  that  there  was  sensible 
a  very  unpleasant  odour.  They  then  raised  a  cairn,  and 
swam  back. 

With  Kali  on  several  of  his  expeditions  was  one  John 
Petersson,  and  the  two  young  men  contracted  a  warm 
friendship.  This  was  unfortunately  broken  by  a  dispute 
among  their  respective  followers,  which  led  to  the  murdering 
of  one  another's  relatives  and  servants,  and  Kali  and  John 
fighting  against  each  other.  The  quarrel  was  with  difficulty 
composed  by  King  Sigurd  of  Norway,  who  ordered  John 
Petersson  to  marry  Ingritha,  the  sister  of  Kali ;  and  the 
king  gave  to  Kali  the  name  of  Rognvald,  and  the  title  of 
Earl  of  Orkney,  a.d.  1129. 

Next  year  Sigurd  died,  and  the  throne  was  contested  by 
his  son  Magnus,  and  by  Harald  Gilli,  an  illegitimate  son  of 
King  Magnus  Barelegs.  Kali,  or  Rognvald,  as  we  must 
now  call  him,  supported  the  pretensions  of  Harald,  and  after 
four  years  of  dispute,  the  kingdom  was  divided  between 
Haiald  and  Magnus.  The  Earldom  of  Orkney  was  con- 
firmed by  both  kings  to  Rognvald.  In  11 39  Harald  seized 
Magnus,  blinded  him,  and  took  possession  of  the  whole 
kingdom, 

Kol,  the  father  of  Rognvald,  then  sent  men  to  the 
Orkneys  to  ask  Earl  PauP  to  give  up  to  his  son  the  half  of 

'  Son  of  Paul  and  grandson  of  Thorfinn- 


-* 


2 1 8  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  20. 


the  islands  which  had  belonged  to  Erlendr,  brother  of  Paul's 
father.  And  if  he  refused,  the  men  were  to  go  to  Frakork, 
daughter  of  Maddad,  Earl  of  Athole,  and  Margaret  daughter 
of  Hakon,  Earl  of  Orkney-  and  offer  her  and  her  son  Olvir 
Rosta  half  the  Earldom  of  Orkney  if  they  would  assist 
Rognvald  in  dispossessing  Earl  Paul. 

When  Paul  heard  the  proposal  of  the  messengers  of  Kol 
he  was  indignant.  "  This  claim,"  said  he,  "  is  audaciously 
planned,  and  with  long  forethought.  Kol  and  Rognvald 
hope,  with  the  assistance  of  the  kings  of  Norway,  to  obtain 
my  possessions.  I  will  not  reward  perfidy  by  giving  up 
my  lands  to  a  man  so  remotely  connected  as  Rognvald. 
With  God's  help  I  will  defend  my  islands  against  him," 

The  messengers  then  went  to  Athole,  and  Frakork  and 
her  son  Olvir  at  once  accepted  the  proposal. 

Next  summer  Rognvald  sailed  with  five  or  six  ships  to 
Shetland,  where  they  were  to  meet  the  troops  of  Olvir. 
Frakork  and  Olvir  mustered  twelve  ships,  but  the  two 
armaments  did  not  meet,  owing  to  contrary  winds.  Olvir 
then  sailed  from  the  Pentland  Firth  and  attacked  Earl 
Paul's  vessels  at  sea.  After  a  furious  batde  Paul  defeated 
Olvir,  and  then  sailed  to  Shetland  to  attack  Rognvald.  He 
took  his  ships  by  surprise,  killed  his  men,  and  sailed  back 
to  Orkney,  towing  away  with  him  Rognvald's  six  ships. 

Rognvald  returned  to  Norway,  and  was  received  with 
much  ill  humour  by  his  father. 

Next  year  he  sailed  at  the  head  of  another  expedition  to 
Orkney,  and  vowed  to  S,  Magnus  that,  if  he  were  successful, 
he  would  build  a  stone  minster  at  Kirkwall,  in  Orkney,  in 
his  honour,  A  fair  wind  wafted  the  expedition  to  Shetland. 
By  treachery,  skilfully  planned,  the  beacons  on  the  Orkney 
isles  were  not  lighted  to  warn  Earl  Paul  of  the  approach  of 
a  hostile  fleet,  and  before  he  was  aware,  Rognvald  had 
landed  in  the  Orkneys.     Shortly  after,  a  small  party  from 


'^ 


-* 


August  20.] 


S.  Ronald. 


219 


Athole  managed  to  capture  Earl  Paul,  and  carry  him  off 
captive  to  Earl  Maddad  of  Athole.  Margaret  Countess  of 
Athole,  then  sent  messengers  to  Rognvald  to  claim  half  the 
Orkneys  for  her  son  Harald,  then  three  years  old.  What 
became  of  Paul  at  Athole  is  not  known.  Some  suspect 
that  he  was  made  away  with  by  his  sister  Margaret,  who 
wanted  his  title  and  share  of  the  islands  for  her  son. 

Rognvald  now  became  sole  Earl  of  Orkney,  and  in  fulfil- 
ment of  his  vow  he  built  the  church  of  S.  Magnus  at 
Kirkwall,  Harald  Maddad's  son  was  invested  ^vith  the  title 
of  Earl,  but  Rognvald  ruled  alone.  Harald  came  to  Orkney 
with  his  foster-father,  Thorbiorn  Klerk,  son  of  Gudrun, 
daughter  of  Frakork. 

Earls  Rognvald  and  Harald  visited  King  Ingi  by  invita- 
tion at  Bergen,  and  there  Earl  Rognvald  met  with  a  returned 
Crusader,  and  became  possessed  by  a  strong  desire  to  visit 
the  Holy  Land.  On  his  return  voyage  to  Orkney,  Earl 
Rognvald  was  shipwrecked  at  Gulberwich  in  Shetland,  and 
narrowly  escaped  with  his  Hfe.  Bishop  William  of  Orkney 
strongly  approved  of  his  project  to  go  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
Holy  Land,  and  agreed  to  accompany  him.  Accordingly 
he  went  back  to  Norway  to  organize  the  expedition,  and 
returned  to  the  Orkneys,  followed  by  a  large  number  of 
jorsala-farers.  Crusaders,  mostly  adventurers  of  very  indif- 
ferent character,  if  we  may  judge  by  their  turbulent  and 
lawless  behaviour  during  their  stay  in  the  Orkneys,  where 
they  spent  the  winter  previous  to  their  departure  for  the 
East. 

The  summer  of  1152  was  far  advanced  before  Rognvald 
sailed,  but  he  had  a  prosperous  voyage,  the  adventures  of 
which  are  detailed  in  the  Saga. 

Altogether  the  crusade  partook  of  the  character  of  a 
heathen  viking  expedition,  rather  than  of  a  Christian 
pilgrimage. 


ii^- 


-* 


^ — — — * 

2  20  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  2a 

After  having  visited  Jerusalem  and  bathed  in  the  Jordan, 
Rognvald  returned  to  Norway,  by  way  of  Constantinople, 
Durazzo,  Apulia,  and  Rome,  and  thence  overland;  the 
whole  expedition  occupying  three  years. 

In  1 158  Rognvald  was  murdered  at  Calder  in  Caithness, 
by  Thorbiom  Klerk,  foster-father  of  Earl  Harald,  who  had 
been  made  an  outlaw  by  Earl  Rognvald  for  a  murder 
committed  in  Kirkwall,  following  on  a  series  of  acts  of 
violence. 

"  Earl  Rognvald  Kali  died  five  nights  after  the  summer 
Mary  mass.  Earl  Harald  brought  the  body  with  a  splendid 
following  to  the  Orkneys,  and  it  was  buried  at  the  Magnus 
Church ;  and  there  it  rested  until  God  manifested  Rogn- 
vald's  merits  by  many  and  great  miracles.  Then  Bishop 
Bjarni  had  his  holy  remains  cxliumed  with  the  permission 
of  the  Pope.  Where  the  blood  of  the  Earl  fell  on  the  stones 
when  he  died,  it  may  be  seen  to  this  day  as  fresh  as  if  it 
had  just  come  from  his  wounds." 

A  full  account  of  the  adventures  of  S.  Rognvald,  or 
Ronald,  as  is  the  modern  Scottish  form  of  the  name,  may 
be  read  with  interest  in  the  English  translation  of  the 
Orkneyinga  Saga,  by  Mr.  J.  Anderson.^ 

1  Published  by  Edmonston  and  Douglas,  Edinburgh,  1873. 


..-..-•< 


* — ■ ^ 


*- 


August    21.] 


6'6'.  Ltixorius,  and  others.  2  2 1 


August  21, 

S.  EuPREPiUB,  B.  at  Verona  ;  ■znd  cent. 
S.  Cyriaca,  \V.  M.  at  Rome  ;  ^rd  cent. 
SS.    LuxoRius,  CiSELLUS,  AND  Ca.mf.rinus,  MM.   in  Sardinia } 

A.D.  303. 
SS.  Bassa  and  her  Three  Sons,  A/i)/.  at  Larissa ;  circ.  a.d.  304. 
SS.    BoNosus  AND    Maximilian,  MM.  at  Antioch,  iti  Syria; 

A.D.  363. 
S.  Privatus,  B.  M.  of  Mende,  in  France  ;  circ.  sth  cent. 
S.  Julian,  B.  of  Lescar,  iji  Biam;  $th  cent. 
S.  Leontius,  B.  of  Bordeaux  i  6th  cent. 
SS.  Bernard  de  Alzira  and  his  Sisters  Gratia  and  Maria, 

MM.  at  Valeniia;  circ.  a.d.  1180. 
B.    Bernard   PtolkMV,  founder  of  tJie   Olivetines,   at  Siena ; 

a.d.  1348. 
S.   Jane   Frances  Chantal,    W.   at    Anncey;    a.d.    1641   (see 

Dec.  13). 

SS.  LUXORIUS,  CISELLUS,  AND  CAMERINUS,  :.IM. 

(a.d.  303.) 

[Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Jerome  "  Lu.xorius, 
Trajan,  and  Quadratus,  Bishops  and  Martyrs  in  Sardinia."  In  another 
copy  the  names  are  Lu.xurius,  Augerius,  and  Eulodius.  Trajan  has  slipped 
in  through  mistake,  the  spot  where  Lu.xorius  was  martyred  being  Fonim- 
Trajensis.  The  Acts  are  not  ancient,  they  are  redolent  of  a  later  age. 
Luxorius,  as  a  heathen,  has  a  Latin  Psalter,  goes  into  a  Christian  church, 
is  buried  with  lights  and  hymns.  Yet  they  are  vastly  superior  to  the  ordinary 
run  of  late  Acts.  There  is  no  piling  up  of  horrors  in  the  torturing  of 
the  Martyr,  and  no  grotesque  miracles.  They  are  probably  composed  on  the 
ancient  Acts,  with  more  fidelity  to  facts  and  less  unscrupulous  amplification 
than  was  common.] 

[N  the  reign  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  Del- 
phinus  or  Dalmatius  was  sent  into  Sardinia  to 
execute  the  commands  of  the  Emperors  for  the 
extirpation  of  Christianity.  Luxorius  was  a 
soldier,  who  by  some  accident  had  got  possession  of  a 
Psalter  ;  he  read  the  Psalms  in  order  with  great  satisfaction  ; 


->:^ 


22  2  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  ai. 

and  when  he  came  to  Psalm  Ixxxv.  (A.  V.  Ixxxvi.),  and 
read,  "Among  the  gods  there  is  none  Hke  unto  thee,  O 
Lord;  there  is  not  one  that  can  do  as  thou  doest.  All 
nations  whom  thou  hast  made  shall  come  and  worship  thee, 
O  Lord :  and  shall  glorify  thy  name,"  he  felt  in  his  heart 
that  these  words  were  only  true  of  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians. Then  he  signed  himself  with  the  cross,  and  hasted 
to  a  church,  and  entered  it  as  they  were  singing  "  Retribue 
servo  tuo ;  vivam  et  custodiam  sermones  tuos  :"  "  O  do 
well  unto  thy  servant,  that  I  may  live  and  keep  thy  word. 
Open  thou  mine  eyes  ;  that  I  may  see  the  wondrous  things 
of  thy  law.  I  am  a  stranger  upon  earth  :  O  hide  not  thy 
commandments  from  me.  My  soul  breaketh  out  for  the 
very  fervent  desire  :  that  it  hath  alway  unto  thy  judg- 
ments."^ And  his  heart  grew  soft  and  yearning  for  the 
new  clear  light  that  was  breaking  in  upon  it,  and  he  panted 
for  the  living  water  which  promised  to  slake  the  great  thirst 
of  his  soul.  So  he  read  diligently  the  Scriptures,  and  com- 
mitted the  whole  of  the  Psalter  and  much  of  the  Prophets 
to  memory,  and  at  length  he  was  given  the  Holy  Gospels. 
And  when  he  read  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  very  eternal  Son  of 
God  made  man,  weeping  in  the  crib  of  Bethlehem,  his  soul, 
which  had  been  long  weary,  began  to  revive,  like  a  flower 
which  is  parched,  as  the  rain  falls  on  it.*  He  was  baptized, 
and  when  the  new  prefect  Dalmatius  came  to  Sardinia,  was 
one  of  the  first  to  be  brought  before  him.  And  at  the  same 
time,  two  little  boys  Crsellus  and  Camerinus,  still  in  the 
white  of  their  baptismal  garments,  were  brought  up  for 
sentence. 

Dalmatius  bade  Luxorius  deny  Christ.  "  How  can  I  deny 
him  whom  my  conscience  proclaims  to  be  my  God  ?  I  cannot 
do  it,"  answered  the  soldier.     Dalmatius  ordered  Luxorius 

'  Ps.  cxix.  17 — 20. 
*  Deinde  ....  Evangelia  commendavit  memoriae,  et  animo  vivens  factus  est. 


-'^ 


August  .1.]        '^'^-  Bassa,  and  her  Sons.  223 

to  be  beaten.  And  when  bound  to  a  post,  and  scourged,  he 
burst  forth  into  the  loved  song  of  David,  the  Uttle  boys 
looking  on  and  listening,  and  gathering  courage.  Then 
Dalmatius  ordered  all  three  to  execution  by  the  sword,  and 
the  children  and  the  child-hearted  soldier  entered  together 
into  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 


SS.  BASSA,  AND  HER  SONS,  MM. 
(about  a.d.  304.) 

[Greek  Menaea  and  Roman  Martyrologies.  In  the  latter,  inaccurately, 
apparently,  the  martyrs  are  said  to  have  suffered  at  Edessa.  Baronius  added, 
wlien  inserting  the  names  in  the  Modern  Roman  Martyrology,  "  Edessa,  in 
Syria."'  But  from  the  Menasa  it  appears  that  the  Martyrs  were  of  Larissa, 
in  Greece  ;  but  which  Larissa  is  not  stated.  The  Greek  Acts  were  written 
by  Laurence,  monk  of  Ruti,  in  Calabria,  in  the  13th  cent.  In  405  there  was 
a  church  dedicated  to  S.  Bassa,  in  Chalcedonia,  for  Theodoret  says  that 
Peter  the  Fuller  had  been  priest  of  that  church  before  he  was  made  Bishop 
of  Antioch.  The  Greek  Acts,  being  late,  are  less  worthy  of  reliance  than 
the  notices  in  the  Mensea  and  Menology.] 

S.  Bassa  was  the  wife  of  Valerius,  an  idol  priest  at 
Larissa  in  Greece,  but  whether  the  Larissa  on  the  Peneus, 
or  that  on  the  Maliac  Gulf,  both  of  which  are  in  Thessaly, 
or  Larissa  in  Achaia,  is  not  told  us,  but  it  was  probably  the 
first,  as  the  Acts  say  the  governor  went  thence  into 
Macedonia.  By  Valerius  she  had  three  sons,  Theognis, 
Agapius,  and  Pistus.  As  Bassa  was  a  Christian,  she  instilled 
the  faith  early  into  the  hearts  of  her  boys.  Valerius, 
exasperated  at  his  wife  for  having  abandoned  the  worship  of 
the  gods,   denounced  her  himself  to  the  prefect ;  and  this 

'  Laurence  of  Ruti  says  "  Edessa  in  Greece."  There  was  an  Edessa  in  Macedonia, 
but  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  he  put  Edessa  for  Larissa,  as  he  had  not  heard  of  the 
latter  place,  whereas  the  name  of  Edessa  was  familiar  to  him.  Baronius  knowing 
that  Edessa  was  not  in  Greece,  tried  to  mend  matters  by  inserting  in  the  Martyrology 
•'  EdEssa  in  Syria,"  and  made  the  blunder  worse. 


*- 


-* 


224  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August «. 

involved  also  the  arrest  of  the  sons.  It  was  hoped  that,  if 
the  children  could  be  brought  to  sacrifice,  the  constancy  of 
the  mother  would  fail.  They  were  therefore  urged  to  do 
homage  to  the  idols,  and  when  they  refused,  Theognis,  first 
of  all,  was  hung  up  by  the  wrists  and  ankles,  and  his  back 
torn  with  sharp  irons.  The  mother  encouraged  him  to 
endure  his  agonies.  The  inhuman  executioners  gashed 
deeper,  till  the  body  dragged  so  heavily  on  the  cords,  that 
the  tormentors  saw  he  was  unconscious.  He  was  cast  on 
the  bloody  sand ;  they  stooped  over  him ;  felt  his  heart 
He  was  dead. 

Then  Agapius,  a  little  boy  of  remarkable  beauty,  was 
brought  forward.  In  his  childish  voice,  he  cried,  "  King 
Christ !  I  will  not  deny  thee  !  Dear  brother,  I  will  not 
deny  thee,  but  be  brave  as  thou  wast."  The  skin  of  his 
head  was  peeled  off,  and  he  was  flayed  to  the  breast,  when 
he  also  died. 

Pistus  was  then  brought  up. 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

"  Mother  calls  me  Pistus,  and  says  I  must  be  what  I  am 
called.  Faithful." 

His  head  was  struck  off. 

Bassa  was  made  to  follow  the  governor  thence  into  Mace- 
donia ;  but  she  escaped  to  the  island  of  Halene,  in  the 
Propontis.  Her  place  of  retreat  was  discovered,  and  she 
was  executed. 


»i<- 


^ 


^ ' — ^ 

August  21.]      SS.  Bojiosus  and  Maximilia7i.         225 

SS.  BONOSUS  AND  MAXIMILIAN,  MM. 
(a.d.  363.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Ado  and  Usuardus.  Authority : — The  Acts  in 
Ruinart,  not,  however,  without  gross  interpolations.  Mediseval  lovers  of 
marvels,  impatient  of  the  simplicity  of  the  genuine  narrative,  intruded  into 
it  additional  tortures  and  some  marvels,  as  that  Bonosus  and  Maximilian 
felt  no  pain  when  scourged,  nor  were  injured  when  immersed  in  boiling 
pitch  or  in  quicklime.  But  it  is  easy  to  cut  out  the  interpolations,  and 
restore  the  Acts  to  their  primitive  form.] 

The  Emperor  Julian  commanded  that  the  Labarum,  the 
cross  and  name  of  Christ,  which  Constantine  had  placed  on 
the  standards  of  the  army,  should  be  removed,  and  the 
Roman  eagle,  and  the  images  of  the  gods  be  substituted 
for  it.  He  had  created  Julian,  his  uncle  by  the  mother's 
side,  an  apostate  from  the  faith  like  himself.  Count  of  the 
East.  Julian  the  Count  proved  less  cautious  than  his 
nephew  in  his  dealings  with  Christians.  The  Emperor  did 
not  persecute  openly.  The  only  Christians  who  suffered 
under  him  were  soldiers,  and  they  were  sentenced  on  a 
charge  of  disobedience  to  military  orders.  But  the  martyr- 
doms were  not  many ;  those  who  suffered  were  chiefly 
soldiers  under  Count  Julian.  Among  these  were  Bonosus 
and  Maximilian,  officers  in  the  troop  of  the  Old  Herculeans. 
Julian  ordered  the  standards  to  be  delivered  up,  that  the 
cross  might  be  struck  off,  and  images  of  Jove  and  Hercules 
be  placed  on  them  instead.  These  two  officers  sternly 
refused  to  deliver  up  the  standards  for  this  purpose.  Julian 
ordered  them  to  be  scourged  with  leathern  thongs,  loaded 
with  balls  of  lead.  Bonosus  smiled  under  the  infliction  of 
this  degrading  punishment;  and  when  asked  if  he  would 
give  way,  and  surrender  the  standards,  did  not  answer. 

Maximilian  was  next  attached  to  the  post,  and  his  back 
bared  for  the  lash.     His  bold  defiance  of  the  Count  so  exas- 

voL.  IX.                                                                     15 
* 5« 


* »J< 

226  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  ai. 

perated  him  that  JuHan  ordered  MaximiHan  to  be  racked. 
Bonosus  was  slung  up  at  the  same  time. 

As  they  were  hanging,  Julian  addressed  them  once  more, 
still  on  the  subject  of  the  standards.  "  We  will  have  nothing 
to  do  with  your  standards  headed  with  idols,"  said  the 
intrepid  martyrs.     They  were  ordered  off  to  prison. 

After  having  been  left  a  long  time  without  food,  Julian 
sent  them  bread  on  which  he  had  impressed  his  seal,  pro- 
bably representing  a  false  god.  Some  days  after  the  martyrs 
were  brought  before  him  again.  They  had  not  touched  the 
bread.  Then  Julian  ordered  the  heroic  soldiers  to  be  led 
forth  outside  the  city  and  executed  with  the  sword.  Miletius, 
Bishop  of  Antioch,  and  many  hundreds  of  Christians  looked 
on,  and  witnessed  their  glorious  confession. 

The  Acts  conclude  with  a  ludicrous  scene  betAveen  Julian 
and  his  Christian  wife.  Some  worms  come  out  of  his  mouth. 
In  a  scared  condition  he  entreats  her  to  go  to  the  church 
and  pray  that  she  may  not  become  a  widow.  She  declines, 
thinking  she  would  be  better  off  if  he  were  dead.  He  is  left 
by  her  uncharitable  zeal  to  expire  in  agonies.  All  this 
nonsense  is  an  addition  of  a  mediaeval  scribe. 


SS.  BERNARD  DE  ALZIRA,  GRATIA,  AND 
MARY,  MM. 

(a.d.  1 180.) 

[Spanish  and  Cistercian  Martyrologies.     Authority  :— The  Annals  of  the 
Cistercian  Order.] 

Almanzor,  prince  of  Carlet  near  Valencia,  under  the 
Moorish  King  Zaen,  had  two  sons,  Almanzor  and  Hamet, 
and  two  daughters,  Zaida  and  Zoraida.     Hamet  was  sent 


* — -^ 

August  ai.]  '^^-  Bernard  de  Alzira,  and  others.   227 

with  a  party  on  an  embassy  to  Barcelona  to  negotiate  an 
exchange  of  captives  with  the  Christian  king.  On  their  way 
back,  the  Moorish  delegates  lost  their  road  by  night  in  a 
forest  near  Lerida.  Hamet  got  separated  from  his  com- 
panions, and  after  plunging  deeper  into  the  forest,  flung 
himself  down  under  an  oak  to  sleep.  In  the  middle  of  the 
night  he  was  awoke  : — 

"A  light  before  him  swims, 
Between  dark  stems  tlie  forest  glows, 
He  hears  a  noise  of  hymns." 

Through  the  fern  in  which  he  lies,  Hamet  sees  the  lancet 
windows  of  a  monastery  chapel  illumined  ;  hears  the  tinkle 
of  the  shrill  bell,  and  the  alternate  waves  of  choral  song 
roll  through  the  solemn  aisles  of  forest. 

Nursed  in  a  lore  of  Jins  and  magic,  the  youth's  imagina- 
tion is  kindled.  Hours  pass.  To  Noctums  succeed  Lauds, 
to  Lauds  Prime.  The  mysterious  music  dies  away,  and  then 
bursts  out  again.  The  light  whitens  in  the  east.  "  The 
star  of  morn  to  night  succeeds,"  yellow  flashes  streak  the 
tree  boles,  the  choirs  of  birds  sing  out,  the  wondrous  song 
in  the  monastery  is  hushed.  Hamet  rises,  and  goes  to  the 
gate  of  the  religious  house,  and  asks  for  food  and  rest.  He 
is  received.  All  is  wonderful  v/ithin.  The  grey  cloister, 
the  black  and  white  monks,  the  great  crucifix  with  the 
morning  sun  on  it,  and  an  expiring  lamp  swinging  before 
it ;  the  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mother  holding  up  the  Divine 
Child. 

There  Hamet  lingered ;  the  day  passed,  he  asked  to  stay 
another.  Again,  in  the  night,  from  this  guest-room  where 
he  lay,  he  heard  the  nocturnal  chanting  whilst  the  stars 
wheeled  above  the  chapel,  and  the  slanting  silver  crescent 
cast  a  ghostly  light  on  the  white  walls.  Still  Hamet  lingered 
on.     "  Who  was  that  woman  like  a  lily  bowed  in  pain,  a 

•J, 


-* 


28  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August   21. 


sword  piercing  her  heart  ?  Who  was  that  stripped  of  his 
garments,  hanging  on  the  cross,  with  head  bowed  down,  and 
blood  drops  faUing?"  He  must  hear  the  story.  So  the 
swarthy  Moor  sat  at  the  feet  of  Abbot  Grimald,  and  was 
told  the  Gospel  story.  It  was  a  story  that  moved  him 
to  his  heart's  foundations.  A  very  different  tale  from  those 
he  had  long  delighted  in— the  story  of  Camaralzaman,  of 
Noureddin  and  the  beautiful  Persian,  of  the  Three 
Calenders,  sons  of  kings,  and  the  Five  Ladies  of  Bagdad. 
So  he  stayed  on  till  all  the  truths  of  the  Christian  faith 
were  made  plain  to  him,  and  then  he  asked  to  be  baptized 
and  to  become  a  Cistercian  monk.  His  request  was  granted, 
and  the  Mussulman  Hamet  became  the  Christian  Bernard, 
and  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Alzira. 

After  some  years  he  thought  of  his  brother  Almanzor,  and 
of  his  sisters  Zaida  and  Zoraida,  and  he  longed  to  bear  the 
lamp  of  faith  to  Carlet,  to  illumine  their  dark  souls.  Leave 
was  granted  him,  and  he  departed.  Hamet  had  been 
deemed  lost  and  dead.  In  the  strange  gaunt  man  with 
burning  eyes  and  hollow  cheeks,  Almanzor  scarcely 
recognised  his  brother.  The  father  was  dead  ;  Almanzor, 
the  son,  occupied  his  room.  But  when  he  began  to  speak 
of  Christ,  the  Moorish  chief  cursed  him,  and  bade  him  be 
silent.  Bernard  then  sought  his  sisters  :  the  beautiful  story 
of  the  Virgin  mother  and  her  Son  was  told  them  under  the 
orange  trees,  and  filled  their  gentle  souls  with  longing  and 
delight.  He  told  them  more,  and  at  length,  they  asked  to 
be  baptized  and  to  profess  Christ.  He  secretly  administered  to 
them  the  sacrament,  giving  to  Zaida  the  name  of  Gratia,  and  to 
Zoraida  that  of  Mary,  and  then  Bernard  and  his  two  virgin 
sisters  fled  from  the  palace  of  their  brother.  Their  flight 
was  discovered  before  morning,  and  a  party  of  Moors  set 
foi  th  in  pursuit.     Two  days  after,  the  fugitives  were  caught 


>J, .-.^-, ^-^..-. ^ 


Aug., 'p.  228.] 


S.    BERNARD   PTOLEMY.      After  Cahier. 


[.Aug.  21. 


*- 


* 


August  21]   '^'5'.  Bernard  de  Alzira,  and  others.   229 

in  a  wood.  Almanzor  would  have  run  his  brother  through 
with  a  spear,  but  his  hand  was  arrested.  However,  Bernard 
was,  by  his  orders,  bound  to  a  tree,  and  liis  head  cleft  with 
an  axe.  Gratia  and  Maria  bowed  their  necks,  and  their 
heads  were  smitten  ofi. 


3    Peter,  Ap. 


* 


230  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  22. 


August  22. 

S.  SvMPHORlAN,  M.  at  Autun  ;  circ.  A.v.  180. 

SS.  Athanasius  and  Anthusa,  MM.  at  Tarsus,  in  Ciltcia; 

A.D.  257. 
S.  HiPPOLYTUS,  B.M.  at  Porto,  near  Rome  ;  -^rd  cent. 
SS.  Agathonicus  and  Companions,  MM.  in  Bithynia;   circ. 

A.D.  303. 
S.  GUNIFORTIS,  M.  at  Pavia. 
S.  Timothy,  M.  at  Rome  ;  circ.  a.d.  311. 
S.  SiGFRlD,  Ab.  o/Wearmouth;  A.D.  689  (see  Jan.  h,  p.  173), 

S.  SYMPHORIAN,  M. 
(a.d.  180.) 

[Roman  and  Gallican  Martyrologies.   Usuardus,  Ado,  &c.  Martyrology  of 
S.  Jerome.     Authority  : — The  ancient  authentic  Acts.] 

fAINT  SYMPHORIAN  was  the  son  of  Faustus, 
of  a  noble  Christian  family,  living  at  Autun  in 
Gaul.   He  had  been  baptized  by  S.  Benignus,  and 
was  in  the   bloom   of  life   when  the  Emperor 
Marcus  Aurelius  began  his  persecution  of  the  Church. 

On  a  certain  day  the  image  of  Berecynth  was  being 
carried  in  procession  through  the  city,  when  Symphorian 
refused  to  bow  his  knee  as  it  passed.  He  was  seized  by  the 
mob,  and  brought  before  Heraclius,  the  governor  of  the  pro- 
vince, who  happened  then  to  be  at  Autun.  Heraclius 
asked  Symphorian  why  he  refused  to  kneel  to  the  image  of 
the  Mother  of  the  Gods.  "  I  am  a  Christian,"  answered  the 
young  man,  "  and  I  adore  no  images.  Give  me  a  hammer, 
and  I  will  make  short  work  of  Berecynth." 

" The  fellow,"  said  Heraclius, -'seems  to  me  to  be  not 
only  sacrilegious  towards  the   immortal   gods,   but   to  be 


*- 


^- 


-© 


August    22.] 


kS.  SympJiorian. 


231 


tainted  with  rebellion.      Officers  !    of  what  place  is  he  a 
native  ?" 

One  of  them  answered,  "  He  is  of  this  place,  and  of  a 
noble  family."  The  judge  said  to  Symphorian,  "  You  flatter 
yourself  on  account  of  your  birth,  and  are  perhaps  unac- 
quainted with  the  Emperor's  orders."  He  then  ordered  him 
to  be  bound,  and  said  to  him,  "What  say  you  to  this,  Sym- 
phorian ?"  The  martyr  continued  his  denunciation  of  the 
idol.  Then  HeracHus  commanded  him  to  be  cruelly  beaten 
with  clubs,  and  sent  to  prison.  Two  days  after  he  was 
brought  out  of  his  dark  dungeon,  and  presented  before  the 
tribunal.  Heraclius  offered  him  preferment,  saying,  "It 
would  be  much  better  for  you  to  serve  the  immortal  gods, 
and  to  receive  a  gratuity  from  the  public  treasiu-y,  with  an 
honourable  military  office.  If  you  have  a  mind,  I  will 
cause  the  altars  to  be  adorned  with  flowers,  that  you  may 
offer  to  the  gods  the  incense  which  is  due  to  them."  Sym- 
phorian testified  by  his  answer  that  he  despised  the  offers 
that  were  made  him,  and  abhorred  the  superstitions  attend- 
ing the  worship  of  Cybele.  At  length  the  judge  condemned 
him  to  die  by  the  sword.  He  heard  the  sentence  with  joy. 
As  he  was  carried  out  of  the  town  to  execution,  his  mother, 
standing  on  the  walls  of  the  city  to  see  him  pass  by,  cried 
out  to  him,  "  My  son,  my  son  Symphorian  :  remember  the 
living  God,  and  be  of  good  courage.  Raise  your  heart  to 
heaven,  and  consider  Him  that  reigneth  there.  Fear  not 
death  which  leads  to  certain  life." 

The  relics  of  S.  Symphorian,  with  the  exception  of  the 
skull,  were  preserved  in  the  Abbey  dedicated  to  him  by  S 
Euphronius,  Bishop  of  Autun,  in  the  5th  century.  The 
monastery  was  pillaged  and  burnt  in  1570,  by  the  Hugue- 
nots under  the  Admiral  Coligny  ;  but  a  few  fragments  of  the 
relics  which  the  Huguenots  flung  into  the  river  were  saved. 
The  head,  which  was  in  the  little  church  of  S.  Pantaleon- 


^- 


-* 


^ — _ ^ 

232  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  22. 

lez-Autun   escaped  their  fury.     All  the  relics  that  remain 
are  now  in  the  cathedral. 

S.   Symphorian  is  represented  as  a  youth  with  a  palm 
branch  trampling  on  the  image  of  Berecynth. 


SS.  ATHANASIUS  AND  ANTHUSA,  MM. 

(a.d.  257.) 

[Modern  Roman  Martyrology,  inserted  by  Baronius.  Greek  Menasa  and 
Menology  of  Basil.  Authority  : — Beside  the  mention  in  the  Menology,  a 
life  and  passion  by  Laurence  of  Rati,  in  Greek,  written  in  the  13th  cent., 
and  therefore  of  no  great  value.] 

Anthusa,  a  native  of  Seleucia,  having  learned  something 
of  Christ  from  two  Christian  slaves,  Charisius  and  Neophy 
tus,  went  from  her  mother's  house  to  Tarsus  with  them, 
under  pretence  that  she  was  going  to  visit  her  nurse.  There 
she  was  baptized  by  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Tarsus.  On  her 
return,  her  mother,  incensed  at  her  conduct,  refused  to 
suffer  her  to  re-enter  the  house.  She  therefore  retired  to 
a  desert  place  and  lived  in  solitude.  But  when  in  257 
Valerian  issued  his  edict  against  the  Christians,  Anthusa, 
Athanasius,  and  the  two  slaves  were  arrested  and  put  to 
death. 


^ _ ij( 


*- 


August    22.] 


S.  Hippolytiis.  233 


S.  HIPPOLYTUS,  B.M. 
(third  cent.) 

[In  the  Menology  of  Basil  (nth  cent.)  on  Aug.  29.  "  Hippolytus,  Pope." 
Also  by  the  Greeks  on  January  30  ;  on  which  day  also  the  Abyssinian 
Kalendar,  as  "  Pope  of  Rome."  So  also  the  Russian  Kalendar.  Usuardus 
on  Aug.  23;  in  other  later  marfyrologies,  "  S.  Ypolitus  in  porte."  on 
Aug.  22  ;  on  the  following  day  "  In  porte  Romse  natale  S.  Hippolytii,  qui 
dicitur  Nonnus."  On  this  day  the  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  The  Acts 
are  utterly  worthless,  and  deserve  no  further  notice.  They  make  him 
synchronize  both  with  Alexander  Severus  and  S.  Pclagia— /.e.,  live  in  the 
3rd  and  5th  centuries.  There  is  another  Hippolytus  commemorated  on 
Aug.  13,  and  the  greatest  confusion  reigns  between  the  saints  of  the  same 
name.  Whether  S.  Hippolytus,  the  ecclesiastical  writer,  was  bishop  of  the 
Port  of  Rome,  or  whether  the  Hippolytus  who  was  a  martyr  at  Ostia  was 
another  person  altogether,  cannot  be  decided,  but  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  several  persons,  a  bishop  and  two  martyrs,  have  been  confounded 
together.] 

EusEBius  says,  "At  the  same  time,"  i.e.,  in  the  reign  of 
Alexander  Severus,  "  Hippolytus,  who  composed  many 
other  treatises,  also  wrote  a  work  on  the  passover.'"  After 
mentioning  Beryllus,  Bishop  of  Eostra,  in  Arabia,  he  adds, 
"  Hippolytus,  also,  who  was  bishop  of  another  Church,  has 
left  us  some  works."^  S.  Jerome,  in  a  disputed  passage, 
says  he  was  a  Roman  senator.^  What  is  more  certain  is 
that  he  was  a  disciple  of  S.  Irenseus,  for  he  tells  us  so  him- 
self,* and  that  he  knew  Origen.'  That  he  was  a  bishop  is 
also  certain,  but  S.  Jerome  says  "  of  what  city  I  have  not 
been  able  to  learn."  Later  writers  say  he  was  bishop  of  the 
Port  of  Rome  ;  Anastasius  the  Librarian  says  so  positively. 
George  Syncellus,  the  author  of  the  Chronicon  Paschale, 
Zonaras,  Nicephorus,  and  others  say  the  same.  But  they 
differ  as  to  whether  the  Portus  Romanus  was  Aden  in 
Arabia,  or  Porto  on  the  Tiber.  What  seems  to  favour 
the  former  of  these  opinions  is  that  Eusebius  names  him 

*  He  goes  on  to  give  a  list  of  his  works,  vi.  22.  *  vi.  20. 

'  Hieron.  Ep   70.  ♦  Photius,  Cod.  121.  '  Idem,  Hicron.  Catal.  c.  61. 

i ^ <i( 


-* 


234  Lives  of  ike  Samts. 


[August  33. 


immediately  after  the  Arabian  bishop  Beryllus,  and  Origen 
one  day  assisted  at  a  lesson  given  by  Hippolytus,  conse- 
quently delivered  in  the  East.  S.  Jerome  and  Theodoret 
assert  that  he  suffered  martyrdom,^  but  we  do  not  know 
anything  of  the  details.  He  flourished  under  Alexander 
Severus ;  but  as  he  combated  Noetus,  who,  according  to 
S.  Epiphanius,  did  not  appear  until  a.d.  244,  it  is  probable 
that  he  died  in  the  persecution  of  Decius  ;  he  certainly  could 
not  have  obtained  his  crown  in  the  reign  of  Alexander 
Severus  in  a.d.  225,  as  the  Roman  Martyrology  asserts. 

In  1 55 1  a  statue  of  S.  Hippolytus  was  found  in  the 
rubbish  under  the  church  of  his  title  at  Rome.  The  statue 
did  not  bear  his  name,  but  contained  a  table  on  one  of  its 
sides  on  which  were  inscribed  in  Greek  a  list  of  books  of 
which  S.  Hippolytus  is  known  to  have  been  the  author. 
This  statue  is  now  in  the  Vatican. 

That  S.  Hippolytus  was  Bishop  of  Porto  is  the  most 
probable  conclusion  at  which  we  can  arrive,  but  that  he  was 
early  confounded  with  the  martyr  of  the  same  name,  who 
suffered  either  at  Ostia  or  at  Rome.  This  must  have  taken 
place  when  the  statue  was  erected  in  the  church  of  S.  Hip- 
polytus at  Rome.  A  recently  recovered  work,  a  Confutation 
of  Heresies,  in  Greek,  has  been  supposed  to  be  his  Philoso- 
phoumena.  If  it  be,  then  he  was  certainly  at  Rome,  and 
bitterly  hostile  to  Pope  Callixtus.  But  the  arguments  in 
favour  of  attributing  this  book  to  Hippolytus  are  by  no 
means  conclusive.* 

The  question  of  the  authorsiiip  of  the  Philosophoumena 

1  Hieron.  Prsef.  in  Matt.,  Theod.  Dialog,  iii.  "  De  Impatibili." 
'  The  Chevalier  Bunsen,  in  his  "  Hippolytus  and  his  Age,"  1852,  attributes  the  book 
to  Hippolytus.  Dr.  Wordsworth,  in  his  "Saint  Hippolytus  and  the  Church  of 
Rome,"  1853,  adopts  the  same  view.  But  a  masterly  es.say  by  the  Abbe  Cruice, 
"  fitudes  sur  la  Philosophumena,"  1853,  disputes  their  arguments  with  great  ability, 
but  the  author  does  not  feel  justified  in  attributing  the  work  to  any  known  author. 
Dr.  Dollinger,  in  his  "  Hippolytus  und  Kallistus,"  combats  Bunsen,  and 
attempts  an  apology  for  Callixtus. 


*- 


-* 


August    22.] 


6'.  Gu7iifortts.  235 


is  not  one  on  which  it  is  incumbent  on  us  to  enter  here. 
The  balance  of  probability  leans  towards  Hippolytus  being 
the  author.  He  is  said  to  have  disputed  the  authority  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  to  have  been  involved  at 
one  time  in  the  heresy  of  Novatus  ;  but  it  is  a  charge 
probably  brought  against  him  for  so  vehemently  opposing 
the  easy  terms  of  pardon  accorded  to  the  fallen  by  Pope 
Callixtus.  The  Refutation  of  Heresies  exhibits  to  us  two 
factions  at  Rome  during  the  pontificate  of  Callixtus,  one  an 
indulgent  party,  the  other  very  austere.  At  the  head  of 
the  former  stood  the  Pope,  at  the  head  of  the  latter  the 
author  of  the  Refutation  of  Heresies,  a  bishop  under  him, 
therefore  probably  one  of  the  suburban  bishops.  The 
Bishop  of  Porto  would  answer  to  the  requirement,  and  the 
charge  of  Novatianism  which  clung  to  the  memory  of 
Hippolytus  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  he  steadfastly,  even 
violently,  opposed  the  laxer  discipline  of  Callixtus. 


S.    GUNIFORTIS,    M. 

(date  uncertain.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  and  Dempster  in  his  Scottish  Menology.     Autho- 
rity : — The  utterly  worthless  Acts.] 

WiNiFORTis  and  Winibald  (Gunifortis  and  Guinibald) 
were  two  Scottish  (Irish?)  princes  with  Teutonic  names, 
who  ran  away  from  home  with  their  two  sisters  accompany- 
ing them,  and  came  to  Germany,  where  the  two  maidens 
were  martyred.  Winifortis  and  Winibald  came  on  into  Italy. 
There  the  persecution  of  Maximian  was  raging,  and  Wini- 
bald lost  his  head  for  preaching  the  true  faith  at  Como. 
Winifortis  went  on  to  Milan,  where  he  was  shot  with  arrows, 

i * 


* 


-* 


236 


Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  2X 


and  left  for  dead.     But  having  recovered,  he  went  on  to 
Pavia,  where  he  died. 

I  suspect  we  have  here  a  dim  reminiscence  of  S.  Wilhbald 
and  S.  Winnibald,  sons  of  S.  Richard,  who  visited  Rome 
in  A.D.  721,  and  of  their  sister,  S.  Walpurgis,  or  Walburga, 
but  none  of  them  were  martyrs. 


*- 


-* 


ZACCHyEUS    IN    TREE. 


Aug.,  p.  237.] 


[Aug.  23. 


1^. ^ 

Augustus.]  S.Zacchceus.  237 


August  23, 

S.  ZaccH/BUS,  B.  of  Jemsaletn  ;  circ.  a.d.  hi. 

SS.  MiNERvius,  Eleazar  and  his  Eight  Sons,  MM.  at  Lyons; 

2rd  cent. 
SS.  Claudius,  Asterius,  and  Others,  MM.  atj^gis,  in  Cilicia; 

A.D.  283. 
SS.  Timothy  and  Apollinaris,  MM.  at  Reims ;    end  of -^rd 

cent. 
S.  Theonas,  B.  0/ Alexandria  ;  a.d.  300. 
S.  Sidonius  Apollinaris,  B.  o/Clermont;  circ.  a.d.  488. 
S.  Justinian,  H.M.  at  Ramsey,  in  Pembroke  ;  circ.  a.d.  540. 
S.  Victor,  B.  of  Utica,  in  Africa ;  middle  o/6tk  cent. 
S.  Eogain,  B.  of  Ardstraw,  in  Ireland;  circ.  a.d.  558. 
S.  Callinicus,  Patr.  of  Consiantittople  ;  end  of  &tk  cent. 
S.  Philip  Beniti,  C.  at  Todi,  in  Italy;  a.d.  12S5. 

S.  ZACCHiEUS,  B.  OF  JERUSALEM. 

(about  A.D.    III.) 

[.Ancient  Roman  Martyrology,    Ado,    Usuardus,    &c.      Authority  :— 
Mention  by  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  iv.  c.  5.] 

USEBIUS  says  that  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  till 
the  siege  consisted  exclusively  of  Hebrews  who 
believed,  and  the  bishops  were  all  of  the  circum- 
cision. The  first  was  James,  the  brother  of  our 
Lord ;  after  whom  came  Simeon,  then  Justus ;  and  the 
fourth  was  Zacchoeus.  By  some  martyrologists  he  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Zacchseus,  little  of  stature,  who  climbed 
into  the  sycamore  tree  to  see  Jesus  pass  by,  but  there  is  no 
authority  for  this  statement,  which  is  a  mere  conjecture 
arising  from  the  names  of  both  being  the  same. 


-* 


■ 1^ 

238  Lives  of  the  Saints,  jAugust  23. 

SS.  CLAUDIUS,  ASTERIUS,  AND  OTHERS,  MM. 

{a.d.  285.) 

[By  the  Greeks  on  October  30,  by  the  Latins  on  Aug.  23.  The  Ancient 
Martyrology  of  Jerome,  and  most  other  Latin  Martyrologies.  Authority  : — 
The  ancient  and  genuine  Proconsular  Acts,  a  precious  relic,  the  value  of 
which  can  only  be  appreciated  beside  the  rewritten,  amplified,  forged  Acts 
of  so  many  martyrs  which  abound.] 

During  the  greater  part  of  their  reigns  Diocletian  and 
Maximian  did  not  persecute  the  Church.  It  was  in  a.d. 
298  that  persecution  first  began  in  the  army,  and  in  303 
that  it  became  general.  An  edict  liad  been  issued  against 
Christianity  in  298,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
enforced  beyond  the  army  for  five  years,  when  the  spread  of 
the  faith  in  the  household  of  Diocletian  exasperated  him  into 
severity.  But  in  the  early  part  of  his  reign  Diocletian 
showed  no  disposition  to  ill-treat  the  Christians.  Persons  in 
high  stations  allowed  not  only  their  servants,  but  their  wives 
and  children,  to  profess  themselves  members  of  the  Church. 
Places  about  the  Court,  and  even  in  the  Imperial  household, 
were  filled  with  Christians,  and  what  is  more  remarkable, 
Christians  were  appointed  to  the  government  of  provinces, 
with  an  express  exemption  in  their  favour  of  not  being 
obliged  to  assist  at  the  usual  sacrifices. 

Yet  at  this  period  when  the  Church  was  enjoying  rest, 
some  martyrdoms  are  said  to  have  occurred  at  Rome  and  in 
Cilicia.  Those  at  Rome  are  questionable.  Those  in  the 
provinces  are  to  be  considered  as  isolated  events,  resulting 
from  the  cruelty  or  the  caprice  of  some  bigoted  magistrate, 
or  from  a  temporary  ebullition  of  popular  feeling.  The 
edicts  of  Aurelian  were  unrepealed,  and  a  governor,  if  so 
minded,  could  act  upon  them. 

Lysias,  proconsul  of  Cilicia,  was  a  man  of  stern  resolu- 

^ ij, 


August  23.]  SS.  Claudins,  Aster ius,  and  others.     239 

tion  and  stubborn  belief  in  the  necessity  of  making  all 
members  of  the  empire  conform  to  the  established  worship. 

Claudius,  Asterius,  and  Neon  were  three  brothers,  im- 
peached before  the  magistrate  of  yEgea  by  their  mother-in- 
law,  who  hoped  by  compassing  their  destruction  to  obtain 
possession  of  their  estate.  About  the  same  time  two 
women,  Domnina  and  Theonella,  with  a  little  child,  per- 
haps Domnina's,  were  likewise  thrown  into  prison  by  the 
same  magistrate,  on  a  similar  charge,  and  brought  to  their 
trial  before  Lysias,  on  his  making  a  visit  to  ^gea.  The 
Proconsular  Acts  give  the  particulars  of  the  trial. 

Lysias,  being  seated  on  his  tribunal,  said  :  "  Let  those 
Christians  who  have  been  delivered  by  the  officers  to  the 
city  magistrate  be  brought  before  me."  Euthalius,  the 
gaoler,  said,  "  The  magistrate  of  this  city  having,  pursuant 
to  your  orders,  made  the  strictest  inquiry  after  the  Christians, 
has  apprehended  six  of  this  profession  ;  three  young  men, 
all  brothers,  two  women,  and  a  small  child.  One  of  them 
is  here  before  you."  Lysias  said  to  him,  "  Well ;  what  is 
your  name  ?"  He  answered  "  Claudius."  "  Be  not  such  a 
madman,"  said  Lysias,  "as  to  throw  thyself  away  in  thy 
youthful  days  ;  but  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  the  only  way  to 
escape  the  torments  prepared  for  thee  in  case  of  refusal." 

Claudius.  "  My  God  requires  no  such  sacrifices ;  he 
rather  delights  in  alms-deeds  and  holiness  of  life.  Your 
gods  are  unclean  demons,  who  are  pleased  with  such 
sacrifices,  whilst  they  are  preparing  eternal  punishments  for 
those  who  offer  them." 

Lysias.  "  Let  him  be  bound  and  beaten  with  rods ; 
there  is  no  other  way  of  bringing  him  to  reason." 

Claudius.  "  Though  you  inflict  upon  me  the  most  cruel 
torments,  you  will  not  move  me." 

Lysias.  "  The  Emperors  have  com.manded  that  the 
Christians  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  and  that  they  who  refuse 


^ til 

240  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusta* 

to  do  it  be  punished,  but  that  honours  and  rewards  be 
bestowed  on  such  as  obey." 

Claudius.  "Their  rewards  are  temporary  and  short- 
lived; whereas  the  confession  of  Jesus  Christ  has  ever- 
lasting glory  for  its  recompense." 

Then  the  proconsul  commanded  him  to  be  put  upon  the 
rack  :  fire  to  be  applied  to  his  feet,  and  slices  of  flesh  to  be 
cut  off  his  heels,  and  presented  to  him.  The  martyr  said, 
"  Neither  your  fire  nor  all  your  other  torments  can  hurt 
those  who  fear  God.  All  this  conduces  to  eternal  life." 
Lysias  ordered  his  flesh  to  be  torn  with  iron  hooks  ;  then 
his  sides  to  be  rubbed  with  broken  potsherds,  and  burning 
torches  to  be  applied  to  them.  Claudius  said,  "  I  esteem 
it  a  great  benefit  to  suffer  for  God,  and  the  greatest  riches 
to  die  for  Jesus  Christ." 

Lysias.  "  Take  him  hence,  carry  him  back  to  prison, 
and  bring  another."  Euthalius,  the  keeper  of  the  prison, 
said,  "  According  to  your  orders,  my  lord,  we  have  brought 
hither  Asterius  the  second  brother."  Lysias  said  to  him, 
"  Take  my  advice  and  sacrifice  to  the  gods  \  you  have 
before  your  eyes  the  torments  that  are  prepared  for  those 
that  refuse." 

Asterius.  "There  is  one  God  who  dwelleth  in  the 
heavens,  and  in  the  greatness  of  His  power  regardeth  the 
lowliest  things.  Him  my  parents  have  taught  me  to  love 
and  adore.  I  know  not  those  that  you  worship  and  call 
gods."  Lysias  then  ordered  him  to  be  laid  on  the  rack, 
saying,  "Squeeze  his  sides,  tear  them  with  iron  hooks  till 
he  yields  and  sacrifices  to  the  gods."  Asterius  replied,  "  I 
am  the  brother  of  him  whom  you  just  now  had  before  you ; 
we  have  the  same  belief,  and  we  make  the  same  confession. 
My  body  is  in  your  power ;  but  my  soul  is  out  of  your 
reach."  Lysias  said,  "  Bring  the  iron  pincers  and  pulleys, 
bind  his  feet,  squeeze  and  torture  him  to  the  utmost,  that 

_ ^ 


* — >ii 

August  23.]  SS.  Claudius,  Asterms,  and  others.   241 


he  may  discover  how  I  inflict  torments."  After  this  he  said, 
"  Put  live  coals  under  his  feet ;  and  lash  him  on  the  back 
and  belly  with  leather  thongs."  The  martyr  replied,  "  The 
only  favour  I  desire  of  you  is,  that  you  will  not  spare  any 
portion  of  my  body."  Lysias  said,  "Take  him  hence,  put 
him  with  the  rest,  and  bring  the  third." 

When  Neon  was  brought  forward,  Lysias  attempted  to 
move  him  by  milder  treatment;  and  addressing  him  with 
kindness,  exhorted  him  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods  that  he 
might  escape  torments.  Neon  answered,  that  his  gods  liad 
no  power  if  they  were  not  able  to  defend  themselves  without 
the  help  of  a  magistrate  to  enforce  obedience  to  tliem. 
Lysias  said,  "  Strike  him  on  the  neck,  and  bid  him  not 
blaspheme  the  gods."  Neon  replied,  "  You  think  I 
blaspheme  when  I  speak  the  truth."  Lysias  said,  "  Stretch 
him  by  the  feet  upon  the  rack  ;  put  burning  coals  upon 
him,  and  scourge  his  back."  While  this  was  done,  Neon 
said,  "  I  obey  my  conscience,  and  no  man  shall  ever  make 
me  change  this  resolution."  Lysias  then  dictated  his 
sentence  :  "  Euthalius  the  keeper,  and  Archelaus  the 
executioner,  shall  take  care  that  these  three  brothers  be 
crucified  without  the  town,  that  the  birds  of  the  air  may 
devour  their  bodies." 

Then  Euthalius  presented  Domnina ;  whereupoil  Lysias 
said  to  her,  "  You  see,  woman,  the  fire  and  torments  which 
are  preparing  for  you  ;  if  yon  would  avoid  them,  draw  near, 
and  sacrifice."  Domnina  replied,  "  I  shall  not  do  it,  lest 
I  fall  into  eternal  fire,  and  perpetual  torments.  I  worship 
God  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  made  heaven  and 
earth,  and  all  that  is  therein."  Lysias  said,  "  Take  off  her 
garments,  lay  her  at  her  length,  and  scourge  her  with  rods." 
After  this  was  done,  Archelaus  the  executioner  said  to 
Lysias,  "  May  it  please  you,  Domnina  has  died  under  lier 
torments."     Lysias  said,  "  Throw  her  body  into  the  river." 

VOL.  IX.                                                                                   16 
»j,— ij, 


»J« 1^ 

242  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  23. 

Euthalius  said,  "  Here,  my  lord,  is  Theonilla."  Lysias  said 
to  her,  "  You  have  seen  the  flames  and  tortures  with  which 
the  others  have  been  punished.  Honour  the  gods  and 
sacrifice."  Theonilla  replied,  "  I  dread  eternal  torments, 
which  will  destroy  both  body  and  soul."  Lysias  said, 
"  Buffet  her,  lay  her  flat,  and  bind  her,  and  treat  her  with 
the  utmost  violence."  Theonilla  said,  "  Are  you  not 
ashamed  to  inflict  such  punishments  on  a  woman  that  is 
free  and  a  stranger  too  ?  Remember  !  God  sees  what  you 
are  doing."  Lysias  said,  "  Hang  her  up  by  the  hair  of  her 
head,  and  strike  her  on  the  face."  Theonilla  said,  "  Shame 
on  you  !  is  it  not  enough  that  you  have  stripped  me  naked  ? 
It  is  not  me  only  that  you  have  injured,  but  your  mother 
and  your  wife,  who  are  put  to  confusion  in  my  person." 
Lysias  said,  "Are  you  a  married  woman,  or  are  you  a 
widow?"  Theonilla  replied,  "I  have  been  a  widow  these 
three-and-twenty  years.  It  is  for  the  love  of  God  that  I 
have  continued  in  this  state,  accustoming  myself  to  fasting, 
watching,  and  prayer,  ever  since  I  forsook  your  unclean 
idols."  Lysias  said,  "  Shave  her  head,  to  bring  a  blush  to 
her  cheek.  Gird  her  about  with  brambles ;  extend  her 
body,  and  tie  it  to  four  stakes  ;  scourge  her  with  thongs, 
not  only  upon  the  back,  but  over  all  her  body  ;  lay  live 
coals  upon  her  belly,  and  so  let  her  die."  Euthalius  the 
gaoler  and  Archelaus  the  executioner  said,  "  My  lord,  she  is 
now  dead."  Then  said  Lysias  to  them,  "  Sew  her  body  up 
in  a  sack  ;  tie  it  fast,  and  throw  it  into  the  water."  Euthalius 
and  Archelaus  said,  "  We  have  executed  your  orders 
relating  to  the  bodies  of  the  Christians."  The  persecutors 
took  these  precautions  with  regard  to  the  dead  bodies,  that 
the  Christians  might  not  get  possession  of  their  relics. 
These  holy  martyrs  suffered  at  ^gea  in  the  consulate  of 
Diocletian  and  Aristobulus,  on  the  loth  of  the  calends  of 
September,  that  is,  on  the  23rd  of  August,  in  the  year  of 

*■ ^ 


t^ 1^ 

SS.  Timothy  ajid  Apollinaris.        243 


August  33.] 


our  Lord  285,  Lysias  being  proconsul  of  Cilicia,  by  whose 
command  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian,  brothers  and  physicians, 
and  a  great  number  of  other  martyrs  suffered. 


SS.  TIMOTHY  AND  APOLLINARIS,  MM. 

(end    of   3RD   CENT.) 

[Gallican  and  Roman  Martyrologies.  Ado,  Usuardus,  &c.  Authority  : — 
The  account  of  the  Passion  of  these  Martyrs  in  Flodoard's  History  of  the 
Church  of  Reims.  Flodoard  lived  in  the  loth  cent.  The  ancient  Acts  were 
probably  accessible  to  him,  and  his  account  is  taken  from  them.] 

S.  Timothy,  an  Eastern,  preached  the  Word  of  God 
at  Reims  towards  the  end  of  tlie  third  century.  He  was 
taken  and  brought  before  Lampadius  the  governor,  who 
ordered  him  to  be  beaten  till  his  back  was  raw,  and  then 
that  quicklime  and  vinegar  should  be  rubbed  into  his 
wounds. 

Now,  among  the  Christians  looking  on  was  one  Apollinaris, 
and  he  thought  he  saw  two  angels  in  white  standing  by 
the  martyr  and  staying  him  up.  When  Jesus,  the  King  of 
MartyTS,  suffered  His  agony  in  the  Garden,  an  angel  was 
sent  to  comfort  Him  ;  and  if  He  needed  the  staying  hand  of 
an  angel,  how  much  more  a  feeble  servant  ?  Would  He, 
who  had  in  His  sorrow  felt  the  comforting  arm,  deny  it  to 
one  suftering  for  His  love  ? 

Though  men  see  it  not,  when  men  suffer  for  Him,  His 
angels  of  comfort  are  standing  by.  To  Apollinaris  it  was 
given  to  see  the  messengers  of  love ;  and  he  cried  out,  and 
burst  through  the  ring  into  the  open  space  where  stood  the 
rack,  the  fire  of  coals,  the  executioners  and  the  martyr,  and 
fell  at  the  feet  of  Timothy,  and  said  : — "  Good  Timothy, 
pray  for  me.  I  saw  two  in  shining  garments  comforting 
thee.     Gladly  will  I  also  die  for  the  name  of  Christ." 

16 — 2 
^ ■ ^ 


q, »j< 

244  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  23. 


Then  the  governor  angrily  ordered  ApoUinaris  to  be 
seized,  and  boiUng  lead  to  be  poured  into  his  mouth  to 
silence  his  tongue.  And  after  that,  both  martyrs  were 
carried  to  prison.  But  a  multitude  followed  them  weeping 
and  praising  God.  And  on  the  following  day  they  were 
led  forth  outside  the  city,  and  died  by  the  sword. 


S.  SIDONIUS  APOLLINARIS,  B. 
(about  a.d.  488.) 

[Gallican  and  Roman  Martyrologies.  Authorities : — The  letters  of 
Sidonius  himself  and  of  Mamertus  of  Vienna;  mention  by  Gennadius  of 
Marseilles  (d.  495)  ;  Gregory  of  Tours  (d.  594).  His  own  epistles  and 
poems  are,  however,  the  chief  sources  of  information.] 

Caius  Sollius  Apollinaris  Sidonius  was  probably  a 
native  of  Auvergne.  His  family  was  one  of  the  most  illus- 
trious in  Gaul.  His  grandfather,  Apollinaris,  was  the  first 
of  the  family  who  embraced  Christianity.  He  was  praetorian 
prefect  in  Gaul,  and  his  son,  the  father  of  the  saint,  occupied 
the  same  office  under  the  Emperor  Honorius.  Sidonius  was 
born  on  the  5th  of  November,  but  in  what  year  is  not  so 
certain  as  the  day  of  his  birth.  It  was  probably  in  431. 
He  was  taught  philosophy  by  Eusebius,  and  elocution  by 
yEnius.  His  education  was  carefully  attended  to,  so  that 
when  grown  to  man's  estate  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  learned  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished  men 
of  his  time.  He  served  in  the  army  with  distinction,  and 
man-ied  Papianilla,  daughter  of  Avitus,  four  times  prefect 
of  Gaul,  and  thrice  general  of  the  army,  and  received  with 
her  the  land  and  lordship  of  Aubiene  in  Auvergne.  By 
his  wife  Sidonius  had  a  son  and  two  daughters.  He  has 
left  us  a  pleasant  picture  of  country  life  in  one  of  his  epistles, 


-* 


*- 


August  33.] 


S.  Sidonius  Apollinaris.  245 


in  which  he  describes  a  visit  which  he  made  to  his  friends, 
some  Gallic  nobles,  whose  estates  were  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Nismes.  The  morning  hours  were  spent  in  the 
tennis  court  or  the  library.  The  latter  was  furnished  with 
Latin  authors,  profane  and  religious,  the  former  for  the  men, 
the  latter  for  the  ladies.  The  table  was  twice  served,  at 
dinner  and  supper,  with  meat,  boiled  and  roast,  and  with 
wine.  Between  meals  the  company  slept,  galloped  about 
the  country,  or  lounged  in  the  bath. 

The  house  of  his  father-in-law  was  a  favourite  spot  with 
Sidonius.  A  copious  stream,  issuing  from  the  mountain, 
and  falling  in  foaming  cascades  over  the  steps  of  trap  rock, 
discharged  its  waters  into  a  lake,  about  two  miles  long,  and 
the  villa  was  pleasantly  situated  on  the  margin  of  the  lake. 
The  baths,  the  porticoes,  the  summer  apartments  inge- 
niously kept  cool,  the  winter  rooms  as  ingeniously  warmed, 
were  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  luxury  and  use.  The 
adjacent  mountainous  country  afforded  beautiful  prospects 
of  woods,  pastures,  and  the  tall  cones  of  the  volcanic  peaks 
of  Auvergne. 

From  this  retreat,  where  Avitus  amused  his  leisure  with 
books,  rural  sports,  and  the  practice  of  husbandry,  he  was 
called  to  the  general  command  of  the  forces  in  Gaul,  when 
the  province  was  threatened  by  the  Visigoths.  Avitus 
visited  Theodoric,  King  of  the  Goths,  at  Toulouse,  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  solid  alliance  with  that  powerful  nation. 
Whilst  at  Toulouse  the  news  reached  him  that  the  Emperor 
Maximus  was  slain,  and  that  Rome  had  been  pillaged  by 
the  Vandals. 

A  vacant  throne,  which  he  might  ascend  without  guilt  or 
danger,  tempted  his  ambition,  and  the  Visigoths  were  easily 
persuaded  to  support  his  claim.  They  loved  the  person  of 
Avitus,  they  respected  his  virtues,  and  they  were  not  insen- 
sible of  the  advantage  of  giving  an  Emperor  to  the  West 

iji- >J< 


246  Lives  of  the  Sai7its.  [August  a> 

The  annual  assembly  of  the  seven  provinces  was  shortly 
after  held  at  Aries,  and  the  nomination  of  Avitus  to  the 
purple  was  confirmed.  The  formal  consent  of  Marcian, 
Emperor  of  the  East,  was  solicited  and  obtained ;  but  the 
Senate,  Rome,  and  Italy  submitted  with  impatience  to  the 
presumption  of  a  Gallic  usurper.  He  deemed  it  expedient 
to  hasten  to  Rome,  and  secure  his  seat  in  the  heart  of  the 
Empire.  But  Rome  was  ready  to  acquiesce  in  his  assump- 
tion of  the  purple  only  when  he  was  backed  by  the  legions 
of  Gaul  and  the  host  of  Gothic  Barbarians.  The  capital 
saw  its  Emperor  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  456.  On  the 
I  St  day  of  January,  his  son-in-law,  Sidonius  Apollinaris, 
celebrated  his  virtues  in  a  panegyric  of  six  hundred  pompous 
verses,  and  was  rewarded  by  the  erection  of  a  bronze  statue 
in  the  portico  of  Trajan's  Library — among  those  of  famous 
orators  and  poets. 

Late  writers  attribute  to  Avitus  giddiness  at  his  pro- 
motion, and  loss  of  control  over  his  passions.  He  is 
said  to  have  become  grossly  profligate.  It  is  satisfac- 
tory to  know  that  this  charge  is  entirely  unsubstantiated 
by  anything  like  contemporary  evidence. 

The  Senate  asserted  their  legitimate  claim  to  elect  an 
Emperor.  Count  Ricimer,  one  of  the  principal  commanders 
of  the  barbarian  troops,  who  formed  the  military  defence  of 
Italy,  supported  them  in  their  discontent.  Avitus  received 
peremptory  orders  before  the  close  of  this  year  to  descend 
from  his  throne ;  and  the  feeble  Emperor,  after  a  short  and 
unavailing  struggle,  abdicated  the  purple  and  the  vices 
wherewith  he  had  stained  it,  to  resume  his  former  virtues 
as  Bishop  of  Placentia.  But  the  inflexible  severity  of  the 
Senate  refused  to  allow  the  usurper  to  hide  his  discomfiture 
under  the  episcopal  mitre,  and  demanded  his  death.  Avitus 
fled  towards  the  Alps  with  the  hope  of  securing  his  person 
and  treasures  in  his  patrimony  in  Auvergne.     Disease,  or 

* * 


^ _ *J, 

I 

August  23.]  S.  Sidonius  Apo  Ulnar  IS.  247 

the  hand  of  the  executioner,  arrested  him  on  his  road. 
Sidonius  had  contracted  some  guilt  by  his  relationship  to  and 
laudation  of  the  fallen  Emperor.  He  hastened  to  wipe  it 
out,  and  secure  his  safety  by  a  tribute  of  fulsome  flattery  to 
the  rising  star,  Majorian, 

The  new  Emperor,  pleased  with  the  panegyric,  showed 
favour  to  Sidonius,  invested  him  with  some  military  com- 
mand, and  finally  with  the  title  of  Count.  Majorian  was 
assassinated  461,  and  was  succeeded  by  Severus  II.,  during 
whose  reign  Sidonius  was  in  Gaul ;  in  467  Sidonius  was  in 
Rome  when  Anthemius  was  exalted  to  the  purple.  He 
composed  and  recited  in  his  honour  a  panegyric ;  practice 
in  flattery  had  removed  the  difficulty  and  the  ignominy,  but 
his  prognostications  of  a  long,  prosperous  reign  were  as  little 
verified  by  the  event  as  were  those  so  lavishly  expended 
on  Avitus.^  Anthemius,  after  five  years  of  sad  contem- 
plation of  the  breaking  up  of  the  Western  Empire,  was 
massacred  by  the  soldiers  of  Ricimer.  Sidonius,  during 
the  brief  reign,  enjoyed  the  prefectship  of  the  city,  the 
pay  accorded  him  for  his  poetical  adulation  of  the 
Emperor. 

The  murder  of  Anthemius,  and  the  sack  of  Rome  by  the 
soldiers  of  Ricimer,  probably  disgusted  Sidonius  witli  his 
life  at  the  capital,  and  he  returned  to  his  estates  in  Gaul. 
There  he  met  again  his  wife,  his  son  Apollinaris,  and  his 
daughters  Severiana  and  Roscia.  He  was  a  fond  and  careful 
father.  Among  his  letters  is  one  excusing  himself  from  a 
fishing  party  with  his  brother-in-law,  Agricola,  because  his 
daughter  Severiana  was  ill ;  first  with  a  light  cough,  and  then 
with  fever — probably  congestion  of  the  lungs. 

Gregory  of  Tours  mentions  another  daughter,  Alchima, 
who,  after  the  death  of  their  father,  combined   with   her 

'  He  composed  this  panegyric  ii.  the  advice  o:  Basilius,  the  Consul,  who  assured 
him  that  obsequious  laudation  was  the  only  mode  of  obtaining  emolument  and 
advancement. 

* ^ 


-* 


248  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  23. 


Sisters  to  obtain,  by  unworthy  and  uncanonical  means,  the 
bishopric  of  Clermont  for  their  brother  Apolhnaris.  The 
see  obtained  by  bribery  was  enjoyed  only  four  months. 

In  one  of  his  letters  Sidonius  warns  his  son  against  listen- 
ing to  immodest  discourses,  and  praises  him  for  his 
avoidance  of  them  hitherto.  His  villa  possessed  no  indeli- 
cate pictures  of  nude  females,  nor  were  his  evenings  passed 
in  watching  buffoons  with  painted  faces,  or  boxing  or 
wrestling  matches.  A  coarse  joke  among  his  slaves  was 
corrected  with  a  rap  of  the  cane  of  the  steward. 

The  return  of  Sidonius  to  Auvergne  probably  coincided 
with  the  year  of  his  election  to  the  bishopric  of  Clermont. 
He  was  not  in  Holy  Orders  at  the  time  ;  his  ambitious 
nature  may  have  impelled  him  to  seek  a  new  field  of 
aggrandizement  when  that  of  Court  advancement  was  closed 
to  him.  The  people  of  Clermont  would  certainly  acquiesce 
in  a  hint  that  he  desired  to  rule  them  with  spiritual  authority, 
the  see  being  opportunely  vacant  by  the  death  of  S. 
Eparchius  (a.d.  472).  Or,  it  may  be,  that  the  citizens  and 
clergy  thought  his  return  from  Italy  a  happy  coincidence, 
and  eagerly  elected  one  who,  they  were  well  aware,  would 
do  credit  to  the  Church  and  diocese,  by  his  learning  and 
general  integrity.  On  his  elevation,  S.  Lupus  of  Troyes 
wrote  him  an  affectionate  letter,  pointing  out  to  him  his 
duties,  and  exhorting  him  to  a  conscientious  discharge  of 
them. 

He  seems,  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from  his  own  letters,  to 
have  faithfully  followed  this  good  advice,  and  to  have  set  the 
example  of  a  zealous  bishop,  caring  for  the  souls  committed 
to  his  charge. 

The  incursions  of  the  Goths  threatened  Auvergne.  He 
exhorted  the  people  to  defend  themselves  valiantly,  and 
after  the  example  of  S.  Mamertus  of  Vienne,  he  instituted 


-* 


^ _ >J< 

August  23.]  ^-  Sidoiims  Apollinaris.  249 

Rogations/  Having  been  invited  by  some  Religious,  one 
day,  to  preach  to  them  on  the  festival  of  S.  Cyrus,  some  one 
maliciously  stole  his  manuscript,  but  to  the  delight  and 
astonishment  of  all,  he  preached  extempore,  with  fluency 
and  apparently  without  eftbrt. 

Auvergne  having  been  ceded  to  the  Goths,  Sidonius 
went  into  exile,  to  the  little  town  of  Levignac,  in  Gallia 
Narbonensis,  not  far  from  Carcasonne.  There  he  found  a 
lodging  next  door  to  two  old  women  who  spent  their  time 
in  quarrelling  ;  and  their  discordant  voices  irritated  the  poor 
bishop  to  such  an  extent,  that  he  could  not  sleep  or  study. 
"  Never !"  says  he,  "  were  there  such  chatterboxes,  so 
quarrelsome,  so  restless,  so  abusive."  After  a  short  exile  he 
returned  to  his  see,  never  to  quit  it  again  till  death.  On 
his  resuming  the  direction  of  his  diocese  he  was  worried  by 
two  of  his  priests,  who  deprived  him  of  his  comforts  and  his 
goods,  and  interfered  with  the  discharge  of  his  authority.  The 
opportune  death  of  one  of  these  priests  of  cramp  in  the 
bowels  so  frightened  the  other,  that  Sidonius  was  left  in 
peace  for  a  time.  But  the  bishop  falling  sick  with  fever, 
the  surviving  priest,  who  had  before  tormented  him,  set 
about  canvassing  for  the  bishopric.  Sidonius,  highly  in- 
censed, had  himself  carried  down  into  the  cathedral.  The 
people  were  convoked,  and  he  exhorted  them  to  receive  no 
one  as  their  prelate  but  his  brother  Aprunculus. 

S.  Sidonius  died  in  488  or  489,  and  his  brother  at  once 
stepped  into  the  office  he  had  vacated.  S.  Aprunculus 
died  in  491,  and  was  succeeded  by  S.  Euphrasius,  on  whose 
death  Apollinaris,  the  son  of  S.  Sidonius,  obtained  the  see 
by  bribery. 

The  relics  of  Sidonius  Apollinaris  are  shown  in  a  rich 
shrine  in  the  church  of  S.  Genet  at  Saint-Saturnin, 

'  Lib.  V.  EpisL  14  ;  vii.  Epist.  I. 
Ij, _ — — * 


»J( ^ ^ 

250  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusta, 


S.  JUSTINIAN,  H.M. 
(about  a.d,  540.) 

[Whitford,  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology.  Venerated  anciently  in  Gower 
on  this  day.  Authority : — A  life  by  John  of  Tynemouth,  written  in  the 
14th  cent.  J 

Stinan  or  Justinian  was  born  of  noble  parentage  in 
Lesser  Brittany,  and  after  having  spent  his  youth  in  the 
study  of  learning,  he  was  ordained  priest,  and  then  left  his 
country.  After  wandering  for  awhile,  he  came  to  the  coast 
of  Wales,  and  landed  in  the  island  of  Ramsey,  where  he  led 
a  religious  life  in  company  with  Honorius,  the  son  of  King 
Thefriauc.  This  was  by  the  express  wish  of  Honorius. 
Justinian  consented  on  condition  that  Honorius  should 
order  his  sister  and  her  handmaid  not  to  sleep  under  the 
same  roof  as  the  two  hermits.  So  the  unfortunate  women 
were  inhospitably  dismissed  to  the  mainland,  to  follow  an 
eremitical  life  elsewhere. 

S.  David  heard  of  the  hermits,  and  sent  to  Justinian  to  bid 
him  come  to  him  that  he  might  see  him.  Justinian  obeyed, 
and  the  bishop  was  so  pleased  with  him,  that  he  gave  him  the 
island  and  some  ground  on  the  mainland  for  his  use  and 
that  of  the  disciples  who  had  begun  to  congregate  about 
him. 

Having  reproved  three  of  these  men,  who  served  him,  for 
their  idleness,  they  were  so  incensed  against  him  that  they 
threw  him  down  and  cut  off  his  head.  A  fountain  is  said  to 
have  bubbled  up  where  he  fell.  The  legend  says  that  Justinian 
rose,  took  his  head  in  his  hands,  went  down  to  the  sea 
shore,  and  walked  over  the  sea  to  the  headland  of  Pem- 
broke opposite  his  island,  and  fell  down  where  now  stands 
the  church  of  Stinan  in  the  parish  of  S.  David's,  Pembroke- 
shire. 


*- 


-* 


August  93.  J  <!> 


Eogain.  251 


S.  EOGAIN,  B.  OF  ARDSTRAW. 

(about  a.d.  558.) 

[Irish  Martyrologies.    Authority  :— A  Hfe  in  Latin  of  much  the  same  dale 
and  character  as  those  of  most  of  the  Irish  Saints.] 

Eogain  or  Eugenius  was  of  a  Leinster  family  by  his 
father's  side,  and  of  an  Ulster  one  by  his  mother's.  In  early 
childhood  he  was  taken  by  pirates  and  carried  to  Britain, 
along  with  S.  Tigernach.'  Nennius,  Abbot  of  Bangor, 
pitied  the  two  little  captives,  who  were  in  the  service  of  one 
of  the  Welsh  princes,  and  begged  them  of  him.  They  were 
given  to  him,  and  he  took  them  to  Bangor.  But  pirates 
attacked  the  abbey,  and  amongst  the  booty  carried  away 
Eogain,  Tigernach,  and  a  lad  named  Corpreus,  after\vards 
Bishop  of  Coleraine.  They  were  sold  in  Brittany,  and 
were  placed  to  work  at  a  mill  grinding  corn.  But  one  day 
the  king  found  the  three  lads  reading.  He  at  once  ordered 
them  to  be  released  from  their  irksome  labour,  and  to  be 
sent  back  to  Bangor,  whence  they  had  been  stolen. 

After  some  years  Eogain  and  Tigernach  went  to  Ireland, 
and  Eogain  settled  at  Killmanach  in  Leinster,  and  spent  in 
that  monastery  fifteen  years  of  his  life,  with  S.  Kevin,  his 
cousin.  He  afterwards  founded  the  monastery  of  Ardstraw, 
and  was  consecrated  bishop.  The  date  of  his  death  cannot 
be  fixed  with  certainty,  but  it  was  probably  not  many  years 
after  550. 

^  Bishop  of  Clogher  and  Clones,  died  A.D.  549. 


1^ _ -•!* 


-* 


252  L  ives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  23. 


S.  PHILIP  BENITI,  C. 

(a.d.  1285.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Canonized  by  Clement  X.  in  1671,  but  the  bull 
published  by  Benedict  XIII.,  in  1724.  Authority  :— A  life  by  Cherubin 
Maria  Dalaus.] 

This  saint,  who  became  the  fifth  General  of  the  Order  of 
Servites,  was  born  in  1234  at  Florence,  of  a  noble  family. 
Entering  a  chapel  of  the  B.  Virgin,  on  the  Thursday  after 
Easter,  he  heard  the  words  of  the  epistle  at  mass,  addressed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  S.  Philip  the  Evangelist,  "  Draw  nigh 
and  join  thyself  to  this  chariot."  He  applied  these  words 
to  himself,  and  thought  they  called  him  to  the  religious  life. 
A  dream  in  which  he  saw  the  world  strewn  with  gins, 
and  full  of  pitfalls  confirmed  his  resolution. 

He  made  his  profession  in  1253,  and  was  sent  to  Monte 
Senario,  to  work  in  the  fields.  He  was  elected  General  in 
[267.  It  is  said,  but  probably  without  tmth,  that  the  car- 
dinals who  were  assembled  to  elect  a  successor  to  Cle- 
ment IV.  thought  of  choosing  him,  and  that  Philip  hid 
himself  lest  he  should  be  called  to  occupy  the  chair  of 
S.  Peter.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  two  years  of  vacancy  of 
the  apostolic  throne,  the  mutual  jealousy  of  the  French  and 
Italian  cardinals  may  have  counselled  the  promotion  of  a 
man  uncompromised  to  either  faction,  in  the  hopes  that 
each  might  gain  his  ear,  but  it  is  far  from  probable,  at  a 
time  when  the  political  interests  of  the  papacy  demanded 
a  clear  head,  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  states- 
manship. 

S.  Philip  attended  che  Council  of  Lyons  to  obtain  from 
Gregory  X.  the  confirmation  of  his  Order.  He  died  on 
August  22nd,  1285,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one. 


^ — ^ 


<?  \, 


Aug.,  p.  252.] 


S.   PHILIP   BI:NITI.     After  Cahicr. 


[Aup.  23. 


*- 


S.  BartJiolomczv.  253 

August  84.1  ^^ 


August  24. 

S.  Bartholomew,  Ap.  A!.,  in  India;  circ.  a.d.  50. 

SS.  Ptolom.cus  and  Romanus,  BB.  MM.  in  Tuscany;  \sfcfttt. 

S.  EvTVCHKS,  disciple  0/ S .  Paui  and  S.  John;  end  of  ist  cent. 

SS.  Al'KEA  AND  CoMi'.,  MM.  at  Ostia  ;  middle  o/ird cent. 

The  White  Mass,  at  Carthage  or  Utica;  a.d.  358. 

SS.  Grkgorv,  Theodore,  and  Lko,  CC.  at  Santos  or  Cep/utlonia; 

circ.  A.D.  360. 
S.  Yarcard,  B.  in  Scotland;  circ.  a.d.  450. 
S.  RiGOJiER,  P.C.  at  Souligni  sous  Vallon,  in  France ;  6th  cent. 
S.  OuEN  OR  Audoen,  B.  of  Rouen;  a.d.  683. 
S.Gregory  the  Lymniot,  M.  on  Olympus;  a.d.  730. 
S.  Peter,  Metr.  o/Kieff,  at  Moscow,  in  Russia;  a.d.  1328. 

S.  BARTHOLOMEW,  A?.  M. 
(about  a.d.  50.) 

[Romnn  Martyrology  ;  but  at  Rome  itself  on  Aug.  25,  and  \ug.  24th  is 
observed  as  the  Vigil.  The  Martyrology  of  S.  Jerome,  on  June  13,  "  In 
Persia  the  nativity  of  S.  Bartholomew,"  but  also  on  Aug.  24th,  "In  India 
S.  Bariholomew."  Florus  in  his  additions  to  Bede,  on  .Aug.  24.  Same  day 
Ado,  Usuardus,  Hrabanus,  Wandelbert.  By  the  Greeks  and  Russians  on 
June  nth,  and  the  translation  of  the  relics  of  S.  Bartholomew  to  Lipari  in 
some  Menaas  on  Aug.  25.  By  the  Armenians  on  December  8  ;  by  the 
Copts  and  Abyssinians  on  June  18  and  November  20.  The  Sarum,  York, 
and  Anglican  Reformed  Kalendars  on  Aug.  24.  No  mention  is  made  of 
S.  Bartholomew  in  the  ancient  Sacramentaries,  as,  till  the  8th  cent.,  the 
Apostles  were  not  commemorated  separately,  but  together  on  the  morrow 
of  the  Feast  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul.  The  Church  of  Constantinople  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  to  have  attributed  a  day  to  the  commemoration  of 
S.  Bartholomew;  but  before  the  nth  cent,  the  observance  of  this  festival 
was  not  commanded.  Before  the  loth  cent,  the  festival  was  without  a  vigil. 
With  this  day,  Aug.  24th,  closes  the  season  for  making  the  Easter  com- 
munion, and  the  names  of  those  who  had  not  made  their  communion 
between  Easter  and  this  day  were  formerly  written  up  on  the  doors  of  the 
churches  in  Rome,  as  those  of  e.vcommunicate  persons.] 

ARTHOLOMEW,    or    the    Son    of    Tolmai,'    is 

reckoned  by  S.  Matthew/  S.  Mark/  and  S.  Luke/ 

as  one  of  the  Apostles  of  our  Lord,  and  the  three 

first    Evangelists    place   him   immediately    after 

S.  Philip.     The  Gospel  of  S.  John  mentions  no  Bartholo- 

'  The  name  occurs  2  Sam.  iii.  3,  xiii.  37.                                      '  .Mali.  x.  3. 
•  Mark  iii.  18.                                                        *  Luke  vL  14  ,  Acts  i.  13. 
* 
^ . -Ij* 


254  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [Augixstan. 

mew,  but  speaks  of  a  Nathanael  who  was  led  by  Philip  to 
our  Lord,^  and  says  that  his  birthplace  was  Cana  of  Galilee.^ 
The  Gospels  which  mention  Bartholomew  make  no  mention 
of  Nathanael.  From  this,  and  from  the  fact  that  Nathanael 
was  called  to  be  a  disciple,  and  probably  also  an  apostle,  by 
Christ,  and  that  the  particulars  of  this  call  are  given  at  some 
length  by  S.  John,  it  has  been  concluded,  with  every  ap- 
pearance of  probability,  that  Nathanael  and  Bartholomew 
are  the  same  person,  the  former  being  his  own  proper  name, 
the  latter  being  a  patronymic,  as  S.  Peter  was  called  Simon 
and  Barjonas, 

Except  what  is  told  us  in  the  Gospels,  we  know  nothing 
trustworthy  concerning  S.  Bartholomew.  S.  Jerome  says  that 
Bartholomew  was  the  only  one  of  the  Twelve  who  was  of 
noble  birth.  This  is  because  the  conjecture  grew  into  a 
tradition  that  Bartholomew  derived  his  name  from  Tolmai, 
King  of  Geshur,  whose  daughter  Maacah  was  the  mother  of 
Absolom  by  King  David.  The  name  Bartholomew  is  Syriac, 
not  Hebrew.  Afterwards  it  was  forgotten  who  Tolmai  was, 
and  he  was  supposed  to  be  Ptolemy,  King  of  Egypt.  Then 
the  fable  took  shape  that  Bartholomew  was  of  royal  Egyp- 
tian race. 

Supposing  him  to  be  the  same  as  Nathanael,  his  call  to 
the  apostleship  took  place  as  follows  : — 

"  The  day  following,  Jesus  would  go  forth  into  Galilee,  and 
findeth  Philip,  and  saith  unto  him,  Eollow  me.  Now  Philip 
was  of  Bethsaida,  the  city  of  Andrew  and  Peter.  Philip 
findeth  Nathanael,  and  saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  him 
of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did  write, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph.  And  Nathanael  said 
unto  him.  Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? 
Philip  saith  unto  him.  Come  and  see.  Jesus  saw  Nathanael 
coming  to  him,  and  saith  of  him,  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed, 

1  John  i.  45  2  John  xxi.  a. 


*i*- 


August  34.] 


S.  Bartholomew. 


255 


-* 


in  whom  is  no  guile  !  Nathanael  saith  unto  him,  Whence 
knowest  thou  me?  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 
Before  that  Phihp  called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig 
tree,  I  saw  thee.  Nathanael  answered  and  saith  unto  him, 
Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God  ;  thou  art  the  King  of 
Israel.  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him.  Because  I  said 
unto  thee,  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig  tree,  believest  thou  ? 
thou  shalt  see  greater  things  than  these.  And  he  saith  unto 
him,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Hereafter  ye  shall  see 
heaven  open,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  Man." 

S.  Epiphanius  says  that  Nathanael  was  the  young  man, 
the  son  of  the  widow,  whom  our  Lord  raised  from  the  dead 
at  Nain  /  but  he  stands  alone  in  this  most  improbable 
conjecture. 

Eusebius  says  that  Pantaenus  on  his  visit  to  India  found 
there  Christians  in  possession  of  the  Gospel  of  S.  Matthew 
in  Hebrew,  which  the  Apostle  Bartholomew  had  left  there 
when  he  preached  the  Word  of  God  in  India.'^  The  Hebrew 
Gospel  was  that  "  of  the  Twelve,"  which  bore  a  close 
resemblance  to  the  canonical  Gospel  of  S.  Matthew  without 
being  identical  with  it.  It  was  compiled  somewhat  earlier 
than  S.  Matthew's  Gospel."  The  statement  that  this  book 
had  been  left  by  S.  Bartholomew  rests  on  a  mistake.  Pan- 
taenus  was  told  that  it  was  given  to  the  Indian  Christians 
by  their  apostle,  Mar-Thomais — i.e.^  S.  Thomas.  Mar- 
thomais  he  concluded  erroneously  to  be  Bartholomew,  and 
thus  originated  the  fable  of  Bartholomew  as  well  as  Thomas 
having  preached  in  India. 

The  Greek  Mensea  says  he  preached  in  India  Felix, 
but  more  probably  Arabia  Felix.      Most  late  writers,  led 

'  Hsres,  23. 
*  Hist.  Eccl.  V.  10  ;  also  S.  Jerome,  after  him,  De  Script.  Eccles.  c.  36. 
"See  full  particulars  concerning  this  Gospel,  with  all  the  fragments  extant,  in  my 
"  Lost  and  Hostile  Gospels."    Williams  and  Norgate.     1874. 


*- 


->b 


Jj, _ ^ 

256  L  ives  of  the  Saints.  [August  24. 

away  by  the  blunder  of  Pantsenus,  make  India  the  scene  of 
the  labours  of  Bartholomew ;  but  late  Greek  writers  make 
him  the  apostle  of  Arabia. 

The  Greek  Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil  and  the 
Synaxarium  of  the  Constantinopolitan  Church  have  a  story 
of  no  historical  value  whatever,  that  in  the  reign  of  Trajan 
S.  Philip  went  to  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia  with  his  seven 
daughters  and  his  sister  Mariamne,  and  accompanied  by 
Bartholomew,  the  Apostle.  There  they  preached  and  con- 
verted Nicanora,  the  wife  of  the  proconsul.  A  great  serpent 
was  the  object  of  adoration  at  Hierapolis.  By  order  of  the 
proconsul,  S.  Philip  and  S.  Bartholomew  were  suspended 
head  downwards  from  a  wall.  Then  the  earth  gaped  and 
swallowed  up  the  serpent  and  its  priests  and  the  proconsul. 
Bartholomew  was  then  released,  but  Philip  consummated 
his  martyrdom.  Then  Bartholomew  and  Mariamne  buried 
Philip,  and  departed  together  into  Lycaonia.  But  Stachys, 
who  had  received  the  apostles  into  his  house  at  Hierapolis, 
was  consecrated  a  bishop,  and  sent  to  Byzantium,  where  he 
is  commemorated  on  October  31.  It  is  not  worth  while 
exposing  the  absurdity  of  this  story. 

The  Martyrologists  agree  in  fixing  Albana  or  Albanopolis 
as  the  scene  of  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Bartholomew.  The 
town  intended  seems  to  have  been  Albana  on  the  shore  of 
the  Caspian,  north  of  the  Caucasus,  the  modern  Derbend. 
The  unanimity  of  tradition  in  fixing  on  this  remote  spot  as 
the  place  where  he  suffered,  makes  it  probable  that  this  was 
indeed  the  scene  of  his  martyrdom. 

The  story  of  his  apostolate  in  India  and  Arabia  must  be 
abandoned.  The  tradition  of  his  having  been  at  Hierapolis, 
and  of  having  preached  in  Armenia,  seems  more  worthy  of 
consideration,  but  then  it  must  have  been  Hierapolis  in 
Syria  that  he  visited,  and  not  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia.  From 
Hierapolis  he  went  on  into  Armenia,  and  pushed  through 

^ ^ 


S.    BARTHOLOMEW. 
From  the  Vienna  Missal. 


Aug..  p.  256.] 


[Aug.  24. 


►  ^- 


-►■< 


August  34.] 


S.  BartJiolomew. 


257 


it,  always  in  the  same  direction,  till  he  reached  the  Caspian 
at  Derbend,  and  there  suffered.  The  Armenian  ecclesias- 
tical historians  unanimously  claim  S.  Bartholomew  as  their 
apostle,  and  the  martyrologists,  with  one  consent,  assert 
that  he  preached  in  Armenia. 

The  saint  is  said  to  have  been  flayed  alive  by  order  of 
the  Armenian  Prince  Polymius,  or  by  Astyages,  the  brother  of 
Polymius ;  or,  according  to  the  Armenian  historians,  Sana- 
trug,  whose  daughter  he  had  converted  to  the  Faith.  When 
flayed,  Bartholomew  was  suspended  on  a  cross,  and  left  to 
die  in  agonies,  exposed  to  the  flies. 

The  remains  of  S.  Bartholomew  were  afterwards  removed, 
in  508,  by  the  Emperor  Anastasius,  to  the  city  of  Daras  in 
Mesopotamia,  not  far  from  Nisibis,  which  he  had  built  and 
fortified  as  a  stronghold.' 

Whence  did  he  procure  these  relics?  That  he  could 
have  got  them  from  Albana  is  hardly  possible,  for  the 
Empire  was  not  at  that  time  so  extensive,  and  Daras  was  at 
the  extreme  confine.  But  we  learn  the  story  from  Theodore 
of  the  Studium,  Joseph  the  hymnographer,  and  Gregory  of 
Tours.  Anastasius  got  the  bones  of  S.  Bartholomew 
from  the  island  of  Lipari. 

But  how  came  they  there  ?  This  was  a  miracle.  When 
Bartholomew  was  martyred  at  Derbend,  the  king,  in  order 
to  secure  that  his  body  should  not  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
Christians,  enclosed  it  in  a  leaden  coffin,  and  threw  the 
coffin  into  the  sea — the  Caspian.  But  marvellous  to  relate  ! 
the  coffin  floated  like  wood  on  the  waves,  and  was  wafted 
out  of  sight.  More  marvellous  still,  it  sailed  by  sea  all  the 
way  to  the  island  of  Lipari  near  Sicily.* 

'  Evagrius,  iii.  37;  Theodore  the  Reader,  ii.,  and  Nicephorus  Callist.  xvi.  37. 

'  The  Bollandists  do  not  take  upon  themselves  to  deny  this  minicle.  "  Mirabills 
hsEC  historia  grande  miraculum,  non  diffiteor.  Verum,  si  quis  hoc  ipso,  quod  mirabilia 
legal,  ea  falsa  existimat,  saepe  impingat  necesse  est,  neque  satis  agnoscere  vidctur 
mirabitem  esse  in  Sanctis  suis  Deum."     Had  Father  Stilling  no  atlas?    Did  he  know 

VOL.  IX.  17 


►  *- 


258  Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[Augus   24. 


Daras  was  taken  and  ruined  by  Chosroes,  in  A.D.  574. 
What  then  became  of  the  body  of  S  Bartholomew  no 
historian  relates. 

But  it  turned  up  again  at  Lipari,  and  was  translated 
thence,  in  a.d.  839,  to  Beneventum,  which  was  elevated 
into  an  archbishopric  in  969  by  John  XIII.  in  honour  of 
the  sacred  body  it  contained ;  and  indulgences  have  been 
granted  to  those  visiting  and  venerating  the  relics.  Another 
body  of  S.  Bartholomew  was  found  by  Pope  Paul  IV.  in 
1560,  in  the  church  of  that  dedication  in  Rome,  which  had 
been  ruined  by  a  flood  in  1557.  The  body  entire,  like  that 
at  Benevento,  reposes  in  the  high  altar.  The  church  o 
Benevento  produces  bulls  of  Leo  IX.,  Stephen  IX.,  Bene- 
dict XII.,  Clement  VI.,  Boniface  IX;,  and  Urban  V.,  con- 
firming them  in  their  claims  to  possess  the  true  body  of  S.  Bar- 
tholomew. The  Romans  produce  bulls  of  Alexander  III. 
and  Sixtus  V.,  and  the  authorized  Roman  Martyrology  and 
Breviary,  which  affirm  that  the  body  at  Rome  is  that  of 
S  Bartholomew. 

Other  relics  are  shown  and  venerated  as  those  of  this 
apostle  at  Lyons  and  Libge — the  latter  given  by  Pope 
Stephen  X.  to  Bishop  Theodowin.  An  arm  was  taken  to 
Canterbury  by  S.  Anselm. 

Other  relics  in  the  church  of  S.  Bartholomew  at  Bergamo ; 
and  in  those  of  the  Apostles,  S.  Eusebius,  S.  Laurence  outside 
the  walls,  S.  Mary  of  the  Angels,  S.  Cross  of  Jerusalem, 
S.  Sabina,  S.  Praxedis,  and  S.  Pudentiana,  at  Rome.  Others 

that  the  Caspian  is  an  inland  sea  with  no  communication  whatever  with  the  ocean  ? 
The  coffin  must  have  voyaged  by  land  across  Media  and  Susiana,  floated  down  the 
Persian  Gulf,  swum  down  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
coasted  West  Africa,  and  entered  the  Mediterranean  by  Gibraltar.  But  the  Greek 
Mentea  gives  a  different  course  to  the  swimming  sarcoph.igus.  It  floated  from  the 
Caspian  into  the  Black  Sea,  coasted  Asia  Minor,  traversed  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and 
the  Dardanelles,  and  swimming  vigorously  down  the  ^gean,  threading  its  way 
among  the  Isles  of  Greece,  entered  the  Mediterranean,  and  doubling  Cape  Passaro, 
sighted  Palermo,  and  finally  rested  in  Lipari.  The  BoUandist  fathers  learnedly  and 
painfully  dispute  whether  the  sarcophagus  were  of  stone  or  of  lead. 


^ 


^ 


August  24.J 


S.  Ba7'tholomew. 


259 


at  Monte  Cassino,  "  non  exiguam  partem  Apostolici  corporis 
recondidit  (Desiderius  abbas)  in  argentea  capsa."  A  head 
at  Naples,  an  arm  at  Amalfi ;  a  great  part  of  the  skin  of 
S.  Bartholomew  at  Riotorto  near  Assisi.  A  foot  at  Genoa, 
with  flesh  and  skin  dried  on  it ;  a  tooth  in  S.  Maria  Libera- 
trix  in  Genoa,  a  large  part  of  the  skin  also  in  S.  Blase  de 
Cataldo  in  Venice.  At  S.  Symphorian,  Reims,  "  a  part  of 
the  body  of  S.  Bartholomew."  Some  of  the  relics  anciently 
enclosed  in  the  leaden  weathercock  of  Sauvemajeur,  as  pro- 
tection against  lightning,  were  removed  afterwards  to  the 
choir ;  but  as  a  monk  was  killed  by  lightning  in  the  church 
shortly  after,  the  relics  were  restored  to  the  weathercock. 
Flying  ants  when  they  approached  the  weathercock  became 
paralysed,  and  fell  dead  on  the  roof  of  the  church.  A  head 
of  S.  Bartholomew  at  Toulouse,  and  an  arm  and  hand  at 
Gersiac,  near  Paris ;  another  arm,  with  the  flesh  dried  on  it,* 
at  Bethune ;  of  another  arm  (a  large  part)  "  nobilem  por- 
tionem  "  at  Foppens ;  other  relics  at  Ogniac  on  the  Save ;  a 
knuckle  at  Rutille  on  the  Meuse.  At  Brussels,  in  the  Court 
Chapel,  part  of  an  arm,  some  bones  at  Bruges  in  the  cathe- 
dral, others  at  Pare  near  Louvain,  at  Tongres,  Utrecht  and 
Maestricht — at  the  latter  a  shoulder-blade, — a  finger  in 
S.  Servais,  and  a  part  of  the  skull  in  S.  Mary's.  At  S. 
Charles  at  Antwerp  part  of  the  chin ;  at  Moisac  some  of 
the  skin ;  at  Cologne,  some  of  the  skin  in  the  church  of 
S.  Severinus,  a  double  tooth  in  that  of  the  Apostles,  an  arm 
in  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  the  Capitol,  part  of  an  arm  in 
S.  Pantaleon,  a  jaw  in  the  Augustinians'  Church,  a  jaw  in 
the  Jesuit  one.  An  arm  at  Ebers,  a  Cistercian  nunnery 
near  Cologne,  at  Steinfeld  an  upper  jaw  ;  one  of  the  knives 
used  in  flaying  the  saint  in  S.  Stephen's,  Mainz.  An  arm 
at  Andechs ;  the  crown  of  the  head  and  part  of  the  jaw,  and 
three  large  leg  or  arm  bones  in  S.  Veit,  at  Prag ;  another 
crown  of  the  head  at  Frankfort,  the  head  entire  anciently 

17 — 2 


-* 


26o  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[Au^st  24. 


at  Reichenau — Avhither  removed  since  the  suppression  of 
the  monastery,  in  1799,  I  do  not  know  ;  a  lower  jaw  at 
Murbach,  some  of  the  hair  of  S.  Bartholomew  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle. 

Some  bones  and  skin  at  S.  Dominici  de  Silos,  near 
Toledo,  a  rib  at  S.  Maria  de  Maxara,  in  Spain,  an  arm  bone, 
and  part  of  the  skin,  and  a  rib,  in  the  Escurial. 

In  works  of  art  S.  Bartholomew  appears  in  the  Greek 
types  as  a  man  with  an  incipient  beard.  Western  traditions 
and  works  of  art,  however,  represent  him  in  the  prime  of  life, 
with  a  quantity  of  strong  black  hair  and  a  bushy  grizzled 
beard. 

His  peculiar  emblem  is  a  butcher's  flaying  knife,  which 
he  holds  in  his  hands ;  sometimes  he  carries  on  his  arm  the 
skin  of  a  man  with  the  face  attached  to  it,  and  frequently  he 
has  in  one  hand  the  Gospel  of  S.  Matthew.  In  mediseval 
times  little  knives  were  given  away  at  Croyland  Abbey  in 
allusion  to  the  instrument  of  S.  Bartholomew's  martyrdom. 
In  Belgium  servant  girls  are  not  allowed  to  go  into  cabbage 
fields  on  this  day,  as  the  Apostle  who  gives  large  heads  to 
the  cabbage-plants  on  this  day  objects  to  their  prying  eyes. 

It  was  the  custom  formerly  in  Brittany  and  Belgium  for 
cataleptic  patients  to  spend  the  nighc  before  S.  Bartholomew's 
day  dancing  in  the  parish  church — an  infallible  cure  of  fits. 
The  custom  is  said  not  to  be  altogether  extinguished  in 
Brittany  at  the  present  day. 


i^ ^ 


-* 


August  24.] 


6",  Eiityches. 


261 


S.  EUTYCHES. 

(end    of    1ST   CENT.) 

[Greek  Menaea  and  Menology  ;  also  on  May  28,  but  the  commemorations 
seem  to  be  of  two  distinct  persons  of  the  same  name,  one  a  martyr,  tlie 
other  a  disciple  of  SS.  Paul  and  John.  In  the  modern  Roman  Martyrology 
"  S.  Eutychius,  disciple  of  S.  John  the  Evangelist,  who  for  preaching  the 
Gospel,  in  various  parts,  suffered  imprisonment,  stripes  and  fire,  but  died  at 
length  in  peace."] 

The  Greeks  venerate  on  this  day  S.  Eutyches,  disciple  of 
S.  JohntheDivineandof  S.Paul.  It  has  been  conjectured  that 
this  Eutyches  is  the  same  as  the  young  man  Eutychus  who 
fell  down  from  an  upper  loft  at  Philippi  when  S.  Paul  was 
preaching,  and  was  taken  up  as  dead,  but  was  restored  to 
consciousness  by  the  apostle.  There  is,  however,  no 
evidence  in  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  which  is  founded 
only  on  the  similarity  of  the  names.  The  Greek  Menologies 
say  that  Eutyches,  or  Eutychius,  was  a  native  of  Sebastopol, 
and  that  after  the  death  of  S.  John,  he  attached  himself  to 
S.  Paul ! ! — a  wonderful  blunder.  He  may  have  followed 
S.  Paul,  and  on  his  death  have  attended  to  S.  John  at 
Ephesus.  The  Menology  gives  an  account  of  his  tortures, 
probably  apocryphal. 


THE  WHITE  MAS& 
(a.d.  258.) 

[Some  copies  of  the  Martyrology  of  Jerome,  and  most  ancient  Latin 
Martyrologies.  The  festival  was  observed  in  Africa  in  the  time  of 
S.  Augustine,  as  we  learn  from  his  discourse  on  Ps.  xlix.,  and  from  Serm. 
cxii.     There  is  also  mention  of  these  martyrs  in  a  hymn  of  Prudentius,  xiii.] 

In  the  persecution  of  Valerian,  in  a.d.  258,  the  proconsul 
of  Africa  went  to  Utica,  and  commanded  the  Christians  who 
were    there    imprisoned  to   be   brought   before  him.      S. 


>■*- 


262 


Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  24. 


-* 


Augustine  says  that  they  numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  ;  the  martyrologists  have  expanded  them  to  three 
hundred.  The  proconsul  ordered  them  to  a  limekiln  in  a 
field,  and  beside  it  stood  an  altar  to  idols  with  salt  and  hog's 
liver  placed  on  it  ready  for  sacrifice.  He  gave  them  their 
choice,  either  to  sacrifice  or  to  perish  in  the  kiln.  They, 
with  one  consent,  leaped  into  the  kiln,  and  were  consumed 
with  the  stone  and  converted  into  lime.  The  lime  was  pre- 
served by  the  Christians  and  moulded  into  one  great  mass, 
and  thence  this  great  block  of  lime  and  ashes  of  martyrs 
received  its  name  of  the  White  Mass. 


S.    YARCARD,    B. 

(about  A.D.  450.) 

[Dempster  in  his  Scottish  Menology.     The  Aberdeen  Breviary.] 

S.  Yarcard,  a  native  of  Kincardine,  was  ordained  by  S. 
Ternan,  and  lived  a  solitary  and  ascetic  life.  He  is  said  to 
have  visited  Rome,  and  received  the  benediction  of  Pope 
Gregory  I.  But  as  S.  Ternan  died  in  a.d.  431,  and  S. 
Gregory  in  a.d.  606,  the  Aberdeen  Breviary  which  makes 
this  statement  is  guilty  of  a  grievous  anachronism.  There  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  he  laboured  along  with  S.  Ternan 
among  the  Picts  in  the  5  th  cent. 


*- 


-* 


CHURCH   OF   S.   OUEX   AT    ROUEN, 


^1 


Aug..  p.  262.] 


[Aug.  24. 


-*i* 


S.  OUEN,  B.  OF  ROUEN. 

(A.D.   683.) 

[Roman  and  Gallican  Martyrologies.  The  Martyrologies  of  Florus, 
Usuardus,  and  Wandelbert.  Authorities  : — A  life,  of  which  only  fragments 
remain,  by  a  writer  only  a  little  later  ;  he  says,  "  I  pass  on  to  his  miracles 
which  I  have  heard  from  his  disciples."  Another  ancient  life  by  an 
anonymous  writer  ;  there  is  a  metrical  life  as  well,  written  in  the  nth  cent., 
of  less  value.] 

S.  OuEN,  Otherwise  called  Dado,  or  Audoen,  was  a 
native  of  Sancy,  in  Brie.  He  was  the  son  of  a  nobleman 
named  Authair,  who  received  S.  Columbanus  at  Vultiac  on 
the  Maine,  probably  about  the  time  when  he  was  driven 
fromLuxeuil.  Aiga,  the  wife  of  Authair,  brought  her  two  sons. 
Ado  and  Ouen,  before  the  venerable  Irish  abbot  to  receive 
his  benediction.  Neither  of  the  children  was  then  ten  years 
old.  Authair  placed  both  his  sons  at  the  court  of  King 
Clothair  II.,  where  they  contracted  a  friendship  with  S. 
Eligius.  Ado  renounced  the  world  and  founded  the  Abbey 
of  Jouarre  on  the  Mame  ;  his  brother  Ouen  remained  with 
Clothair,  and  served  afterwards  his  son  and  successor, 
Dagobert  I,,  who  made  him  keeper  of  his  seal,  as  grand 
referendary  or  chancellor.  Ouen  founded  the  Abbey  of 
Rebais  in  the  forest  of  Brie,  and  appointed  S.  Agil,  one  of 
the  disciples  of  S.  Columbanus,  as  its  first  abbot,  a.d.  636. 
S.  Ouen  would  have  retired  into  the  monastery  he  had  built, 
but  was  not  suffered  by  the  king.  On  the  death  of  Dagobert, 
and  the  succession  of  Clovis  II.,  a.d.  638,  S.  Ouen  for  awhile 
remained  at  court,  and  in  the  performance  of  his  official 
functions,  but  in  a.d.  640  he  was  elected  Archbishop  of 
Rouen,  at  the  same  time  that  his  friend,  S.  Eligius,  was 
chosen  to  fill  the  sees  of  Noyon  and  Tournay.  S.  Ouen 
assisted  in  the  council  of  Chalons  in  644,  and  died  at  Clichy 


-* 


264  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  24 

on   August    24th,    A.D.    683,    after  having   possessed   the 
episcopal  dignity  for  three  years. 

The  life  of  S.  Ouen  is  singularly  deficient  in  details  of 
interest 


S.  PETER,  MET.  OF  KIEFF. 
(a.d.  1328.) 

[Russian  Kalendar.  Authority. — A  life  in  Mouravieffs  Hist,  of  the 
Church  in  Russia.] 

Peter,  a  Volhynian  by  birth,  spent  his  early  youth  in 
religion,  and  was  hegumen  of  a  small  monastery  at  Ratno, 
which  he  had  founded  in  his  native  district.  The  fame  of 
his  virtues  having  reached  Yury,  King  of  the  South-west  of 
Russia  and  of  the  province  of  Lithuania,  he  sent  Peter  to 
Constantinople  to  be  consecrated  Metropolitan  of  Kieff  by 
the  patriarch  Athanasius.  Finding  Kieff  deserted,  under 
the  intolerable  sway  of  the  Mongols,  Peter  removed  to 
Vladimir,  which  he  made  the  seat  of  his  metropolitanate, 
and  whence  he  travelled  throughout  the  country,  ordaining 
bishops  and  priests,  and  reconciling  princes  who  were  at 
variance.  At  Bransk  his  efforts  at  allaying  discord  led  to 
such  resentment  that  had  he  not  fled  for  refuge  and  sanc- 
tuary to  the  cathedral  he  would  have  been  killed. 

Soon  after  his  elevation,  Antony,  Bishop  of  Tver,  son  of 
the  Prince  of  Lithuania,  moved  with  jealousy  at  the 
9.dvancement  to  such  an  important  see  of  a  humble  hegu- 
men, stirred  up  opposition,  and  lodged  a  slanderous  charge 
against  him.  A  synod  met  at  Periaslavla-Zalessky,  attended 
by  numerous  princes  and  clergy,  and  presided  over  by  the 
Bishop  of  Rostoff.  The  venerable  Peter  rose  up  meekly, 
and  said,  "  My  brethren,  a  great  storm  has  arisen  against 


►I*- 


:* 


August  24.1 


6'.  Peter. 


265 


the  Church.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  all  about  myself. 
Throw  me  overboard,  I  am  a  nobody,  if  only  it  will  pro- 
duce a  calm,"  and  he  would  have  laid  down  the  insignia  of 
his  metropolitanate.  But  the  utter  hoUowness  of  the 
accusation  having  been  proved,  as  well  as  the  spite  which 
had  instigated  its  formulation,  the  holy  prelate  was  trium- 
phantly acquitted.  The  Bishop  of  Tver  was  covered  with 
confusion.  Peter  looked  at  him,  red,  with  downcast  eyes, 
and  sullen  brow,  and  attempted  to  cheer  him.  "  Peace  be 
with  thee,  my  son  !  This  was  no  deed  of  thine,  but  his 
who,  from  the  beginning,  has  been  the  great  Accuser.  As 
for  thee,  be  more  prudent  for  the  future,  and  as  for  the  past, 
God  will  forgive  it  thee  ! " 

Moved  by  the  advice  of  Prince  Ivan  I.  of  Moscow,  the 
holy  metropolitan  moved  his  see  from  Vladimir  to  Moscow, 
A.D.  1325.  He  is  said  to  have  persuaded  that  prince  to  lay 
therein  the  foundations  of  the  stone  Cathedral  of  the 
Assumption.  "  If  thou  wilt  comfort  my  old  age,"  said  he, 
"  if  thou  wilt  build  here  a  temple  worthy  of  the  Mother  of 
God,  then  thou  shalt  be  glorious  above  all  other  princes, 
and  thy  posterity  shall  become  great.  My  bones  shall  rest 
in  this  city,  prelates  shall  rejoice  to  dwell  in  it,  and  the 
hands  of  its  princes  shall  be  on  the  necks  of  our  enemies." 

At  the  same  time  Ivan  also  founded  in  his  new  capital 
the  church  of  S.  Saviour  *'  in  the  Wood,"  thought  to  be 
the  oldest  sacred  edifice  standing  at  the  present  day  in 
Moscow,  and  the  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel,  where  his 
body  now  reposes. 

"  The  heart  of  Moscow  is  the  Kremlin,  and  the  heart  of 
the  Kremlin  is  the  Patriarchal  Cathedral,  the  Church  of  the 
Assumption  or  Repose  of  the  Virgin.  It  is,  in  dimensions, 
what  in  the  west  would  be  called  a  chapel  rather  than  a 
cathedral.  But  it  is  so  fraught  with  recollections,  so  teem- 
ing with  worshippers,  so  bursting  with  tombs  and  pictures, 


•f- 


* 


266  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  34. 

from  the  pavement  up  to  the  cupola,  that  its  smallness  of 
space  is  forgotten  in  the  fulness  of  its  contents.  On  the 
platform  of  the  nave,  from  Ivan  the  Terrible  downwards  to 
this  day,  the  Czars  have  been  crowned.  Along  its  altar- 
screen  are  deposited  the  most  sacred  pictures  of  Russia. 
That,  painted  by  the  Metropolitan  Peter ;  this,  sent  by  the 
Greek  Emperor  Manuel ;  that,  brought  by  Vladimir  from 
Kherson.  High  in  the  cupola  is  the  chapel,  where,  as  at 
the  summit  of  the  Russian  Church,  the  Russian  Primates 
were  elected.  In  the  depth  of  the  throne,  behind  the  altar, 
is  the  sacred  picture  which  commemorates  the  original 
rock  of  Kieff,  whence  the  see  of  Moscow  was  hewn.  Round 
the  walls  are  buried  the  Primates  of  the  Church ;  at  the 
four  corners,  here,  as  in  all  Oriental  buildings,  the  place  of 
honour,  He  those  most  highly  venerated."  *  The  tomb  of 
S.  Peter  is  between  the  two  chapels  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Bema  or  Sanctuary. 

>  SUnley's  Eastern  Church,  Led.  s. 


-X 


-* 


August  25.] 


►S*.  Geftes.  267 


August  25. 

SS.  EusKBius,  PoNTiANus,  AND  Otheks,  MM.  at  Rome ;  zndcent. 

S.  Genes,  M.  at  Rome ;  circ.  A.D.  303. 

S.  Genes,  M.  at  Aries ;  circ.  a.d.  303. 

S.  Mennas,  Patr.  0/ Constatttinojile ;  a.d.  552. 

S.  Hilda,  V.,  Abss.  of  Whitby ;  a.d.  680.' 

S.  Ebba,  v.,  Abss.  at  Coldinghatn  ;  A.D.  683. 

S.  Patricia,  V.,  at  Naples  ;  qthcent. 

S.  Gregory,  B.  at  Utrecht-;  a.d.  776. 

S.  Louis,  K.  0/ France  ;  a.d.  1270. 

S.  GENES,  M. 
(circ.  a.d.  303.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  In  the  ancient  Carthaginian  Kalendar,  Genes  tlie 
actor  is  commemorated,  but  on  which  day  cannot  be  distinguished  on 
account  of  a  defect  in  the  MS.  On  this  day,  in  the  ancient  Roman  Kalendar 
pub.  by  Fronto,  and  which  dates  from  before  A.D.  731.  A  church  also 
existed  in  Rome,  the  roof  of  which  was  repaired  in  A.D.  741,  by  Pope 
Gregory  III.  The  Martyrology  of  S.  Jerome,  so  called,  and  other  Latin 
Martyrologies.  There  are  several  versions  of  the  Acts  of  this  Saint,  some 
long,  amplifications  of  the  shorter  ones.  The  latter  are  ancient,  and  trust- 
worthy.] 

N  a  certain  day  when  Diocletian  the  emperor 
was  in  Rome,*  Genes  the  actor  was  perfonning 
on  the  stage  before  the  emperor  and  a  great 
crowd.  He  was  a  clever  mimic,  and  the  subject 
chosen  for  burlesque  was  a  sick  man  troubled  in  mind, 
doubting  the  truth  of  his  gods,  aiarmed  at  the  future,  of 
which  he  knew  nothing  ;  then  hearing  of  Christ,  of  heaven, 
of  a  judgment  to  come,  believing  and  crying  out  for  bap- 
tism. 

York  Kalendar,  on  account  of  a  translation  of  her  body  on  this  day.     But  her 
death  on  Nov.  17th,  to  which  day  the  reader  is  referred  for  her  biography. 

'  Diocletian  was  in  Rome  in  303  ;  the  Acts  state  only  that  Genes  appeared  before 
Diocletian  in  Rome,  and  it  is  therefore  probable  that  the  martyrdom  took  place  then. 


*- 


268  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  2$. 


The  curtain  rose  on  Genes  lying  on  a  bed,  sick  unto 
death,  and  groaning. 

"  I  am  weighed  down,"  moaned  the  actor,  "the  burden  of 
the  past  is  on  my  conscience ;  my  sins  oppress  me  unen- 
durably.  Oh  !  that  I  could  obtain  relief— that  I  were  light 
and  free  !" 

"Why,  how  so,  good  fellow?"  said  the  other  actors  round 
the  sick  couch ;  "  if  you  are  burdened,  how  can  we  lighten 
you  ?" 

"  Ah,  ah  !"  laughed  the  clown  to  the  audience ;  "  there  is 
only  one  way :  we  must  take  him  to  a  carpenter's,  and  have 
him  sawn  and  planed  down,  and  so  lighten  him," 

This  sally  provoked  a  roar  of  laughter. 

"  No,"  said  the  sick  man,  "  I  wish  to  die  a  Christian  :  by 
that  means  only  can  I  obtain  relief." 

"  Why !  what  do  you  desire  to  be  a  Christian  for  ?" 

"  To  fly  to  my  God." 

"  Call  in  a  priest  and  an  exorcist." 

In  came  two  actors  dressed  up  for  their  parts.  The  priest 
sat  down  by  the  bedside,  put  on  a  commiserating  air,  and 
said,  "Why  hast  thou  sent  for  me,  my  son?" 

"I  desire  the  favour  of  Christ,"  answered  Genes,  "by  which 
I  may  be  born  again  to  a  new,  a  hoKer,  a  purer  life." 

Then  a  great  vat  of  water  was  brought  down  upon  the  stage, 
and  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  gone  through  upon  the  sick 
man,  who  was  drawn  out  of  bed  for  the  purpose,  and  amidst 
the  reiterated  bursts  of  merriment  from  the  audience,  was 
plunged  in  the  water,  and  then  clothed  in  white. 

Scarcely  had  this  been  effected,  when  from  the  sides 
rushed  on  some  of  the  company  dressed  as  Roman  soldiers, 
who  seized  on  the  new  convert  and  drew  him  before  the 
emperor's  stall,  that  he  might  be  tried  and  sentenced  by 
Diocletian.  It  was  part  of  the  jest,  the  concerted  spec- 
tacle. 

Genes  shook  off  his  guards,  and  spri-nging  upon  a  pedestal 


August  2S.] 


S.  Genes, 


269 


-*{( 


from  which  he  threw  down  the  statue  of  Venus,  exclaimed, 
"  Sire,  and  all  you  present,  hear  what  I  say.  I  have  ever 
hated  the  Christian  name,  and  when  I  have  seen  Chris- 
tians brought  before  the  magistrate  I  have  exulted.  My 
parents  and  kinsmen  have  been  Christians,  and  from  them 
I  heard  all  concerning  the  faith,  and  the  manner  of  conduct- 
ing the  sacraments.  But  all  I  heard  I  turned  to  mockery, 
and  this  day  have  used  my  knowledge  so  obtained  for  the 
purpose  of  a  merry  jest  against  them.  But  lo  !  sire,  as  I  lay 
on  the  bed,  the  realities  of  sickness  and  approaching  death 
stood  naked  before  me.  And  all  my  sins  from  infancy  rose 
up  before  my  eyes,  filling  a  long  dark  scroll.  Sire,  believe 
me,  when  the  water  touched  me,  and  I  renounced  the  evil  one, 
and  accepted  Christ  with  my  lips,  my  heart  went  with  my 
words.  And  I  saw  a  great  light,  and  angels  shining  above 
me,  and  the  darkness  of  sin  seemed  to  roll  away  before  the 
clear  dawn  of  a  heavenly  light.  And  now,  sire,  and  all  you 
people,  who  have  been  laughing  so  heartily,  believe  me 
when  I  say  that  I  confess  Christ  as  very  God,  and  that  He 
is  the  true  light  shining,  and  the  eternal  truth,  and  perfect 
goodness,  and  in  Him,  and  Him  only,  do  I  trust." 

There  was  something  in  his  look,  his  attitude,  his  voice, 
too  real  to  be  mistaken  for  mimicry.  You  might  have  heard 
a  pin  fall  in  that  great  theatre.  No  man  knew  what  to 
think. 

Diocletian  called  the  actor  before  him. 

"  Jesting  may  be  carried  too  far.  The  spectacle  was  well 
produced,  now  return  behind  the  scenes,  and  change  the 
piece." 

"  Sire,  I  am  in  earnest" 

"  Then  I  shall  be  in  earnest  also.  Ho  !  let  him  be 
beaten." 

Blows  were  showered  on  the  actor.  He  bore  them  with 
the  utmost  patience. 

"  Take  him  away  to  the  prefect,"  said  the  emperor ;  and 


^ 


-* 


2  70  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  as. 


Genes  the  actor  was  drawn  from  the  theatre.  Plautianus  the 
prefect  tortured  him  on  the  rack. 

"  There  is  no  king  but  Him  whom  I  have  seen,  and  whom 
I  adore,"  repeated  Genes.  "  His  I  am,  and  His  I  shall  be. 
Bitterly  do  I  repent  that  I  know  Him  only  so  late." 

Then  Plautianus,  seeing  his  determination,  delivered  him 
over  to  an  executioner  that  his  head  might  be  severed  from 
his  body  with  a  sword. 

In  Art  S.  Genes  is  represented  with  a  clown's  cap  and 
bells.* 


S.    GENES,    M. 

(about  A.D.    303.) 

[Gallican  and  Roman  Martyrologies.    Authorities  : — The  Acts  attributed 
to  S.  Paulinus  of  Nola  but  on  no  satisfactory  grounds.] 

S.  Genes  of  Aries  was  a  young  secretary  in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  magistrate  at  Aries.  On  the  issuing  of  an 
edict  against  the  Christians,  he  was  ordered  to  make  a 
copy  of  it,  but  refused,  and  flung  the  edict  at  the  feet  of 
the  magistrate.  He  was  not  as  yet  baptized.  He  was 
ordered  forth  to  execution,  and  so  received  the  baptism  of 
blood.  The  day  on  which  he  suffered  is  not  stated  in  the 
Acts,  nor  the  emperor  whose  edict  he  refused  to  tran- 
scribe. His  day  has  been  fixed  for  August  24th,  on  account 
of  S.  Genes  of  Rome  having  certainly  suffered  on  that  day. 
The  date  of  his  martyrdom  is  merely  conjectural. 

I  On  a  stall  in  Coombe  in  Tinhead  church,  Devonshire. 


-* 


-* 


August  25.] 


S.  Mennas.  271 


S.  MENNAS,  PATR.  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

(a.d.  552.) 

[Greek  Menology  and  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Authorities  : — 
A  Greek  anonymous  life,  and  authorities  for  the  hfe  of  Popes  Agapetus  and 
Vigilius.] 

When  Justinian,  Emperor  of  the  East,  was  preparing 
to  invade  Italy  and  rescue  it  from  the  domination  of  the 
Goths,  the  Gothic  King  Theodotus  sent  Pope  Agapetus  to 
Constantinople  (a.d.  535),  to  ward  off  the  impending  danger, 
by  exercising  his  influence  upon  the  Emperor,  and  should 
all  his  efforts  to  obtain  peace  prove  unavailing,  he  was  to 
produce  a  letter  from  the  Gothic  King  containing  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  Should  Justinian  land  his  troops  in  Italy, 
Theodotus  declared  his  intention  of  instantly  putting  the 
Roman  Senate  to  the  sword,  and  razing  the  city  of  the 
Csesars  to  the  ground. 

Agapetus  reached  Byzantium  in  February,  536.  He 
found  the  see  of  Constantinople  vacant,  and  the  Empress 
Theodora  prepared  to  translate  to  it  the  Bishop  of  Trebi- 
zonde,  suspected  of  Eutychian  views. 

The  Pope  threatened  in  the  event  of  such  an  appoint- 
ment to  cut  off  communion  with  the  new  Patriarch.  Jus- 
tinian listened  to  his  remonstrances,  and  nominated  Mennas 
to  the  vacant  see.  The  new  Patriarch  was  consecrated, 
April  22nd,  536,  by  the  aged  Pope.  Agapetus  died  shortly 
after. 

The  opportunity  was  seized  by  Vigilius.  The  scandalous 
story  has  been  told  elsewhere^  of  Vigilius  promising  the 
Empress  to  uphold  Eutychianism  if  she  would  obtain  for 
him  the  Papacy,  of  how  he  hastened  to  Rome  with  treasures 
supplied  by  Theodora  to  bribe  the  venal  Roman  people, 
how  he  found  Sylverius  already  in  the  chair  of  S.  Peter, 

'  8«e  life  of  S.  Sylverius,  June  aa 


*■<- 


272  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  25. 


how  he  deposed  him  with  the  help  of  BeHsarius,  how  he 
banished  him  and  caused  his  death,  and  so  cleared  the  way 
for  his  own  accession  to  the  apostolic  throne. 

The  Controversy  of  the  Three  Chapters  now  disturbed 
the  East.  Justinian  the  Emperor  was  a  theologian,  or 
thought  himself  so ;  whilst  his  frontiers  were  threatened  by 
hungry  barbarians,  he  took  the  field  against  heretics  whom 
he  could  exterminate  without  danger  to  his  person.  He 
would  reap  victories  over  theological  opponents  when  he 
shrank  from  exposing  himself  to  the  precarious  fortune  of 
battle  against  the  enemies  of  his  empire  and  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

"What  is  there  to  fear,"  asked  a  bold  conspirator  of  his 
associates,  "  from  this  bigoted  tyrant  ?  Sleepless  and 
unarmed  he  sits  whole  nights  in  his  closet,  debating  with 
reverend  greybeards,  and  turning  over  the  pages  of  eccle- 
siastical volumes."  ^ 

It  was  now  three  hundred  years  since  the  death  of  Origen. 
The  orthodoxy  of  this  great  ecclesiastical  \vriter  was  made 
the  subject  of  debate,  of  controversy,  of  anathema.  Jus 
tinian,  mth  penetrating  eye,  descried  more  than  ten  errors 
in  his  works,  and  his  memory  was  condemned  to  reproba- 
tion. But  the  ^^Titings  of  Origen  were  dear  to  the  monks  of 
Palestine,  and  to  many  of  the  more  intelligent  and  learned 
of  the  Oriental  bishops.  It  was  necessary  to  divert  the 
mind  of  the  Imperial  controversialist  to  another  subject. 

Theodore  Askidas,  Archbishop  of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia, 
both  respected  the  memory  of  Origen  and  loved  the  works 
of  that  great  doctor.  He  was  perhaps  disposed  to  take 
Monophysite  views  of  the  nature  of  Christ ;  but  this  is  not 
established.  The  harlot  Theodora,  whom  Justinian  had 
raised  to  the  Imperial  throne  as  his  consort,  was  deeply 
tainted  \vith   these   views,  and   sought  an  opportunity  to 

'  Procopius,  De  BelL  Goth.  iii.  33. 

t^ — — — 


August  25.]  '^-  Mennas.  273 


overthrow   or   weaken    the    authority   of    the    Council   of 
Chalcedon. 

Theodore  and  Theodora  combined  their  influence  over 
the  feeble  mind  of  Justinian  to  excite  a  controversy  which 
would  further  their  several  ends. 

Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  Theodoret  of  Cyrus,  and  I  has 
of  Edessa,  had  not  been  condemned — on  the  contrary,  they 
had  been  admitted  as  orthodox,  by  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon. They  were  all  three  dead  —  but  what  did  that 
matter?  Let  their  memories  be  the  battlefield  for  a  new 
controversy  !  If  these  three  writers  should  be  pronounced 
heretical,  the  authority  of  Chalcedon  would  be  shaken — 
this  was  what  Theodora  sought ;  and  the  heat  and  excite- 
ment of  the  controversy  would  distract  the  Emperor's 
thoughts  from.  Origen — this  was  the  purpose  of  Theodore 
Askidas.* 

Pope  Vigilius  was  under  ^vritten  promise  to  the  Empress  to 
obtain  the  condemnation  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon.  It 
was  necessary  to  bring  him  to  Constantinople.  He  was 
accordingly  ordered  to  resort  to  the  imperial  capital ;  and 
he  set  forth,  loaded  with  the  imprecations  of  the  Roman 
people,  and  assailed  with  volleys  of  stones,  as  the  murderer 
of  Sylverius,  and  of  his  nephew,  whom  he  had  scourged  10 
death.  "  May  famine  and  pestilence  pursue  thee  ;  evil  hast 
thou  done  to  us,  may  evil  overtake  thee  wherever  thou  art !" 

In  the  meantime  Justinian  had  concluded  his  perusal  of 
the  writings  of  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  Theodoret  of  Cyrus, 
and  Ibas  of  Edessa.  He  looked  for  heresy,  and  his  passion 
was  gratified.  He  detected  minute  points,  words,  expres- 
sions, capable  of  being  forced  to  express  unsound  views. 
These  he  formulated  in  Three  Chapters,  and  prepared  to 
issue  an   edict   condemning   them.     It   was   presented   to 

•  See  on  the  purpose  of  Theodore  in  stirring  up  this  controversy,  Hcfcle's  Con 
cilien  Geschichte,  iii.  1.  4,  c.  x. 

VOL.   IX.  18 


^- 


->.< 


2  74 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  35. 


Mennas,  and  he  was  required  to  sign  it.  He  hesitated,  and 
only  yielded  reluctantly,  on  the  understanding  that  his 
signature  was  provisional,  and  that  he  might  withdraw  it, 
should  Pope  Vigilius  object  to  the  condemnation.  Ephraem, 
Patriarch  of  Antioch,  at  first  refused  to  sign  the  edict,  but 
yielded  when  threatened  with  deposition.  Peter,  Patriarch 
of  Jerusalem,  showed  the  same  cowardice  and  inconsequence. 
When  a  crowd  of  zealous  and  protesting  monks  besieged 
him,  he  swore  that  the  edict  attacked  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon,  and  that  he  would  never  sanction  it  \  yet,  when 
threatened  by  the  Emperor,  he  basely  gave  in  to  it  his 
adhesion.  Zoilus  of  Alexandria  followed  their  ignoble  lead. 
Mennas  is  charged  with  having  forced  his  suffragans  to 
subscribe,  but  this  is  not  a  charge  that  can  be  substantiated. 
It  was  an  excuse  made  by  some  of  the  subscribers  to 
Stephen,  the  papal  secretary,  to  cover  their  own  subservience 
to  the  imperial  will. 

Facundus,  Bishop  of  Hermiane,  and  other  African  bishops 
were  then  in  Constantinople ;  Facundus  drew  up  a  defence 
of  the  Three  Chapters,  and  he  and  his  African  aUies  broke 
off  communion  with  Mennas  and  all  those  prelates  who  had 
signed  the  condemnation. 

At  this  juncture  Vigilius  arrived  in  Constantinople, 
January  25,  a.d.  547,  and  was  received  by  the  Emperor  with 
the  highest  honour.  Vigilius  on  leaving  Rome  had  been 
earnestly,  solemnly  charged  by  the  clergy  and  the  people 
not  to  Hsten  to  any  overtures  made  by  the  Empress  to  obtain 
a  condemnation  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon.  It  had  leaked 
out  that  to  her  Vigilius  owed  his  position  on  the  throne  of 
S.  Peter,  that  in  return  for  his  advancement  he  had  made 
some  promise  to  support  the  Monophysite  heresy;  his  unscru- 
pulous, irreligious  character  was  too  well  known,  and  the 
Church  of  Rome  viewed  the  journey  of  Vigilius  to  Constan- 
tinople with  undisguised  alarm.     The  Pope  assumed  a  tone 


-» < 


*t- 


Augiist  35.] 


S.  Mennas.  275 


of  high  and  rigid  orthodoxy  on  his  arrival  at  Byzantium. 
He  launched  an  interdict  against  Mennas  of  Constantinople, 
Ephraem  of  Antioch,  Peter  of  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  bishops 
who  had  signed  the  edict  of  Justinian  condemning  the 
Three  Chapters. 

But  Vigilius  was  subjected  to  the  manipulation  of 
Theodora  and  Justinian  ;  by  flattery,  persuasion,  and  every 
art  which  would  weigh  with  an  unscrupulous  man  like 
Vigilius,  he  was  brought  into  an  opposite  frame  of  mind,  and 
he  fulminated  his  anathemas  in  echo  to  the  imperial  thunders 
against  those  who  adhered  to  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Three 
Chapters.  "  In  conformity  with  your  invincible  wishes," 
wrote  the  Pope  to  Justinian  and  to  Theodora,  "  I  anathe- 
matize the  letter  of  Ibas,  and  the  doctrine  of  Theodoret,  and 
of  Theodore,  formerly  Bishop  of  Mopsuestia,  who  was  ever 
alien  from  the  Church,  and  opposed  to  the  holy  Fathers. 
We  anathematize  every  one  who  does  not  acknowledge  that 
the  Word  of  God,  Christ,  has  but  one  substance,  one  person, 
and  one  operation  !"* 

When  Vigilius  had  thus  changed  sides,  he  returned  to 
communion  with  Mennas  and  the  other  bishops  whom  he 
had  previously  excommunicated. 

On  April  i  ith,  548,  Pope  Vigilius  sent  to  Mennas  his 
"Judicatum,"  which,  as  the  title  expresses,  contains  the 
judgment  of  the  Pope  on  the  questions  propounded  to  him. 
This  document  is  unfortimately  lost,  but  fragments  remain 
which  allow  us  to  judge  of  its  character.''  He  anathema- 
tized the  Three  Chapters,  but  introduced  a  saving  clause 
that  no  derogation  to  the  authority  of  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon  was  meant  thereby.  That  is — he  condemned  as 
heretical  those  whose  orthodoxy  had  been  proclaimed  by 
the  Fathers   of  Chalcedon,  yet  without  prejudice  to  that 

'  The  words  "one  operation"  are  probably  an  interpolation. 
'  Besides  the  fragment  published  by  Baluze,   Bishop  Hefele  has  discovered  five 
more  in  the  "  Constitution"  of  Vigilius. 

18—2 
»t« > 


*:<- 


276 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  35. 


Council !  Three  years  after,  when  Vigih'us  had  reverted 
again  to  the  opposite  side,  he  excused  his  "  Judicatum,"  as 
a  shifty  production  whose  tendency  was  to  appease  a  profit- 
less controversy. 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of  the  "Judicatum,"  the 
Empress  Theodora  died,  June  28th,  a-D.  548.  But  her 
death  did  not  appease  the  contest,  for  Justinian  was  now 
fired  with  theologic  zeal,  and  bent  on  forcing  the  whole 
Church  to  condemn  Theodore  of  Mopsuesta,  dead  a  hundred 
years  ago  in  full  communion  with  the  Church,  Theodoret  of 
Cyrus,  and  Ibas  of  Edessa,  whose  orthodoxy  had  been 
vindicated  by  the  Fourth  CEcumenical  Council. 

The  "  Judicatum  "  of  the  Pope  had  excited  lively  alarm 
and  indignation.  His  nephew,  the  deacon  Rusticus,  the 
Roman  deacon  Sebastian,  wrote  to  Italy  that  the  Holy 
Father  "  had  struck  a  blow  at  the  authority  of  the  Council 
of  Chalcedon !"  The  Roman  clerks,  John,  Gerontius, 
Severinus,  John,  and  Deusdedit,  opposed  the  "  Judicatum  " 
on  the  same  grounds.  Vigilius,  angry  and  alarmed,  deprived 
them  of  their  offices.  Valentinian,  Bishop  of  Tomi,  and 
Aurelian,  Archbishop  of  Aries,  wrote  in  alarm  to  the  Pope. 
The  rumour  spread  through  Gaul  that  Vigilius  had  over- 
thrown the  four  great  councils.  In  Illyria,  in  Dalmatia,  in 
Africa,  and  in  Scythia,  opposition  to  the  "  Judicatum " 
became  determined.  A  synod  of  the  Illyrian  bishops  met, 
vindicated  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Three  Chapters,  and  deposed 
the  Metropolitan  Benenatus  for  condemning  them  in  con- 
formity with  the  "  Judicatum  "  of  the  Pope. 

So  far  from  appeasing  controversy,  the  judgment  of 
Vigilius  had  excited  it. 

The  Pope  thought  prudent  to  withdraw  it,  after  a  con- 
sultation with  Mennas,  Dacius  of  Milan,  and  several  other 
Greek  and  Latin  bishops.  But  at  the  same  time  that  he 
openly  withdrew  his  "  Judicatum,"  he   privately  by  oath 


*- 


* 


>4- 


August  25.) 


kS*.  Mennas. 


277 


promised  Justinian  (Aug.  15,  a.d.  550)  "that  he  would 
endeavour,  along  with  the  Emperor,  to  obtain  a  sentence  of 
anathema  against  the  Three  Chapters,"  it  was  further  stipu- 
lated that  this  compact  should  be  kept  secret. 

Soon  after  this,  the  Emperor  convoked  a  great  synod  at 
Constantinople  of  the  bishops  of  lUyria  and  Africa.  The 
bishops  of  lUyria  refused  to  attend,  but  those  of  Africa 
were  present,  either  personally  or  by  representation.  The 
Emperor  and  the  Greek  bishops  endeavoured  to  cajole  them 
into  signing  a  condemnation  of  the  Three  Chapters.  On 
their  refusal,  Reparatus  of  Carthage  was  deposed  on  a 
frivolous  excuse,  and  his  compliant  secretary  elevated  in  his 
room.  Firmus  of  Numidia  was  won  by  the  presents  of  the 
Emperor.  Primasius  of  the  province  of  Byzacene  only 
yielded  when  his  metropolitan  died,  and  he  was  able,  by 
giving  in  his  adhesion  to  the  anathema,  to  secure  the  metro- 
politan chair  for  himself.  The  fourth  African  deputy,  Vere- 
cundus,  proved  stubborn. 

Justinian,  at  the  instigation  of  Theodore  Askidas,  now 
drew  up  a  second  edict  charged  with  anathemas  against  the 
Three  Chapters.  The  publication  of  this  edict  caused  a 
commotion  in  the  breast  of  the  Pope.  It  was,  he  saw 
clearly,  impossible  for  him  to  proceed  further  in  the 
matter  of  the  Three  Chapters  without  rousing  against 
him  the  whole  of  the  West.  The  timorous,  compromising 
**  Judicatum  "  had  been  thrown  out  as  a  feeler,  and  it  had 
shown  him  that  the  West  was  resolute  in  its  chivalrous 
attachment  to  the  Chalcedonian  Council,  and  would  not 
endure  an  oblique  imputation  cast  at  it.  That  Justinian 
would  force  him  to  subscribe  the  edict  if  he  tarried  in  Con- 
stantinople was  certain.  If  he  subscribed  it,  Rome  would 
be  in  revolt,  and  he  could  never  again  set  his  foot  in  it.  At 
the  suggested  possibility  of  his  yielding,  the  vigorous  Romans 
had  pelted  him  with  stones.  How  would  they  treat  him  if  he 


-* 


278  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  25, 


basely  subscribed?  He  took  refuge  in  the  basilica  of 
S.  Peter,  with  Dacius  of  Milan,  and  other  Latin  bishops  who 
were  with  him.  In  the  meantime  Theodore  Askidas,  in 
concert  with  Mennas,  deposed  Zoilus,  Patriarch  of  Alexan- 
dria, because  he  would  not  condemn  the  Three  Chapters, 
and  appointed  in  his  room  a  certain  Apollinaris. 

From  the  church  of  S.  Peter,  Pope  Vigilius  drew  up  a 
sentence  of  excommunication  and  deposition  against  Askidas, 
Mennas,  and  all  their  partisans,  and  confided  it  to  the  care 
of  a  woman,  who  was  to  publish  it  in  the  event  of  certain 
contingencies. 

Justinian,  hearing  of  the  flight  of  the  Pope,  sent  soldiers 
to  take  him  from  the  church.  But  Vigilius  would  not  leave 
the  sanctuary.  When  they  threatened  force,  he  flew  to  the 
altar,  and  embraced  one  of  its  pillars.  The  soldiers  seized 
him  by  the  legs  and  pulled  ;  the  Pope,  a  stalwart  and  sturdy 
man,  held  the  pillar ;  the  column  yielded,  and  the  altar 
slab  would  have  fallen  on  him  and  crushed  his  head,  had 
not  some  of  the  clergy  placed  their  shoulders  under  it  and 
sustained  it.  The  resolution  of  the  Pope  overcame  the 
purpose  of  the  soldiers,  and  they  withdrew.  The  Emperor 
then  swore  that  he  would  not  injure  the  Pope,  nor  interfere 
with  his  liberty,  if  he  would  return  to  his  palace,  and 
Vigilius  left  his  asylum. 

Time  passed,  and  Vigilius  saw  that  he  was  being  detained 
in  Constantinople  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  he  should 
yield  through  exhaustion  of  patience  to  the  resolution  of  the 
Emperor.  He  had  now  been  nearly  four  years  in  Constan- 
tinople ;  the  difficulties  of  his  position  were  not  lightened, 
they  daily  became  more  perplexing.  He  secretly  fled  again 
from  his  palace,  crossed  the  Bosphorus,  and  took  refuge  in 
the  church  of  S.  Euphemia  at  Chalcedon.  Thence,  in 
January,  552,  he  launched  the  edict  of  excommunication 
drawn  up  six  months  before  against  Askidas,  Mennas,  &c. 


T" 


►  4- 


August  35.] 


iS*.  Mciinas.  279 


A  month  later  he  received  in  his  sanctuary  a  profession  of 
faith  from  Askidas,  Mennas,  and  the  rest,  which  satisfied 
him.  They  assured  him  that  they  respected  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon,  and  adhered  to  its  decisions  without  adding  to 
or  subtracting  anything  from  them.  As  for  the  matter  of  the 
Three  Chapters,  let  that  remain  to  be  decided  by  a  future 
council. 

Not  long  after,  in  August,  a.d.  552,  Mennas  died,  and 
was  succeeded  in  the  patriarchal  see  by  Eutychius. 

The  brief  biography  of  Mennas  does  not  add  much  to  what 
is  known  of  him  from  other  sources.  He  took  part,  but  it 
was  a  harmless  one,  in  one  of  those  persecutions  of  the 
Jews  on  a  false  charge  which  have  disgraced  Christian 
history.  It  was  the  custom  for  such  of  the  Holy  Eucharist 
as  was  not  consumed  at  mass  by  the  communicants  to  be 
given  to  innocent  children.  Now,  there  was  a  Jewish  lad, 
son  of  a  glass  maker,  at  school,  and  on  one  occasion  he  was 
given  what  remained  of  the  Host,  the  priest  not  knowing 
that  he  was  unbaptized.  The  story  goes  that  when  his 
father  heard  what  he  had  received,  filled  with  rage,  he  cast 
his  child  into  the  glass-furnace.  The  mother  sought  him  in 
vain  ;  the  third  day,  going  near  the  furnace,  she  called  her 
son,  and  the  boy  answered  from  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and 
came  forth  unhurt. 

Thus  ran  the  malicious  lie,  diligently  circulated  among 
the  people  to  excite  them  to  fury  against  the  Hebrews. 
Justinian  at  once  seized  the  glass-blower  and  crucified  him ; 
Mennas  took  the  wife  and  child,  and  baptized  them.  The 
Jews  were  stripped  of  all  their  immunities,  and  were 
oppressed  with  a  vexatious  law  which  compelled  them  to 
observe  the  Passover  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  Chris- 
tians celebrated  Easter. 


28o  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas 


S.  EBBA,  V.  ABSS. 
(a.d.  683.) 

[Wilson's  Anglican  Martyrology.  Whitford  and  Greven,  and  other 
modern  Martyrologists.  Some  confusion  has  arisen  from  there  having  been 
two  S.  Ebbas,  both  Abbesses  of  Coldingham,  one  cotnmemorated  at 
Coldingham  on  April  2,  the  other  on  Aug.  25.  In  Dempster's  Scottish 
Menology  on  Aug.  22,  but  then  he  confounds  the  two  Ebbas  :  he  says 
S.  Ebba,  Virgin  and  Martyr,  at  Coldingham.  Authorities  : — Mention  by 
Bede  in  his  Ecc.  Hist.,  and  the  Acts  in  Capgrave.] 

At  the  northern  extremity  of  Northumberland,  beyond 
Lindisfarne,  on  what  is  now  the  frontier  of  Scotland,  at 
Coldingham,  rose  two  monasteries,  one  for  men,  the  other 
for  women — both  founded  and  governed  by  one  abbess. 
Whilst  S.  Hilda,  the  Deirian  Princess,  ruled  her  double 
monastery  on  the  headland  of  Whitby,  in  her  father's  king- 
dom, Ebba,  a  princess  of  the  rival  dynasty,  granddaughter 
of  Ida  the  Burner,  daughter  of  Ethelfrid  the  Ravager,  but 
sister  to  S.  Oswald  and  Oswy  the  reigning  King  of  Ber 
nicia,  formed  on  the  seacoast  another  monastic  centre,  which 
was  yet  to  hold  an  important  position,  and  to  work  out  a 
stormy  history. 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  her  brother  to  give  her  in 
marriage  to  the  King  of  the  Scots,  but  Ebba  obstinately 
opposed  the  marriage.  She  received  the  veil  from  the  hands 
of  S.  Finan,  successor  of  the  great  Aidan  at  Lindisfarne ; 
Oswy  left  her  at  liberty  to  devote  herself  to  God,  and  gave 
her  a  piece  of  land  on  the  banks  of  the  Derwent,  where  she 
might  found  her  first  monastery,  which  received  the  name 
of  Ebbchester — or  Ebba's  Castle.  But  the  principal  scene 
of  her  activities  was  Coldingham,  in  a  situation  which  she 
seems  to  have  chosen  in  emulation  of  that  of  Whitby. 
Hither,  says  tradition,  she  fled  from  the  pursuit  of  her  royal 
Scottish  lover,  and  the  sea  at  her  bidding  rolled  along  the 
valley  between  the  headland  and  the  mainland,  and  for 


-* 


-►^ 


Augus    25.3 


v^.  Ebba.  281 


three  days  checked  the  advance  of  the  prince.  She  elicited 
also  by  her  prayers  two  fountains  of  limpid  water,  one  at 
the  top  of  the  hill,  the  otlier,  which  is  perennial,  at  its  base. 
S.  Ebba's  great  and  famous  monastery  was  built  on  this  pro- 
montory, now  called  after  her  S.  Abb's  Head,  which  abruptly 
terminates  the  range  of  the  Lammermoors,  thrusting  itself 
out  into  the  German  ocean.  From  this  headland,  or  rather 
precipice,  which  rises  perpendicularly  for  more  than  500 
feet  from  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  view  embraces  on  the 
north  the  Scottish  coast  to  the  farther  side  of  the  Forth,  and, 
on  the  south,  the  English  coast  as  far  as  the  holy  isle  of 
Lindisfame,  and  the  royal  acropolis  of  Bamborough.  A 
small  ruined  chapel  is  all  that  remains  to  mark  the  site  of 
the  great  sanctuary  of  Ebba,  who  was,  like  Hilda,  placed  at 
the  head  of  a  double  community  of  men  and  women,  and 
presided  over  the  religious  life  of  Northern  Northumbria 
with  no  less  success,  and  for  an  equal  length  of  time,  taking 
her  part  also,  during  nearly  thirty  years,  with  no  less  autho- 
rity in  the  affairs  of  her  country. 

She  did  not  always  succeed,  however,  in  maintaining 
amongst  her  daughters  the  fervour  and  gravity  of  which  she 
herself  gave  an  example.  S.  Etheldred  of  Ely  was,  for 
a  while,  her  disciple ;  S.  Cuthbert  also  learned  there  the 
danger  of  too  close  a  proximity  to  women.*  It  was  a  blunder 
to  combine  under  one  roof  monks  and  nuns.  "  The  beauty 
of  the  virgins  allured  the  men,  and  a  restless  desire  to  be 
after  the  men  possessed  the  virgins,"^  is  the  candid  confession 
of  the  biographer  of  S.  Ebba.  No  wonder  then  that  after 
a  brief  sojourn  at  Coldingham,  S.  Cuthbert  went  off  fully 
resolved  "  to  avoid  the  society  of  women  as  a  pest." 

'  "  Beatus  Cuthbertus  intellecta  confusione  in  domo  Domini  per  feminas  facta, 
creditur,  etsi  non  legitur,  celebre  condidisse  decretum  lege  perpetua  servis  suis 
observandum,  quo  non  solum  eis  sui  corporis  prsesentia,  consortia  fa;minarum 
inhibuit,  verum  etiam  introitus  earum,  et  accessus  et  aspectus  abscidit."  Vit.  ap. 
Capfprave. 

'  "  Virginum  species  viros  allexit,  et  inquieta  virorum  cupido  virgines  attraxit,  et 
quasi  stellse  de  ccelo  cadentes  in  ceno  voluptatum  involuti  sunt."    KiV.  ap.  Capgra-e. 


282  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts. 

The  saintly  Abbess  was  warned  of  the  relaxation  which 
had  crept  into  the  monastery,  by  a  holy  priest  of  her  com- 
munity named  Adamnan.*  This  man  had  been  guilty  of 
certain  evil  acts  in  his  youth,  and  had  gone  to  an  old  Irish 
priest  for  confession  and  advice.  "  What  shall  I  do  to  make 
atonement  for  the  past,  and  to  save  my  soul  in  the  Day  of 
the  Lord  ?  Shall  I  spend  my  nights  standing  in  prayer,  and 
fast  all  the  week  save  Sunday?"  "  It  is  too  much,"  answered 
the  Irish  missionary ;  "  fast  twice  or  thrice  a  week.  But  I  am 
going  away  to  Ireland.  On  my  return  I  will  tell  you  my 
advice,  I  shall  have  time  to  think  it  over." 

He  went  away  and  never  returned,  for  he  died  in  Ireland. 
Adamnan  thenceforth  lived  in  great  strictness  ;  he  fasted 
every  day  save  Sunday  and  Thursday,  and  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  nights  in  prayer.  He  afterwards  became  attached 
as  priest  to  the  establishment  at  Coldingham.  As  he  went 
one  day  with  the  abbess  through  the  vast  and  lofty  build- 
ings which  she  had  erected  on  her  headland,  he  said  to  her 
with  tears,  "  All  that  you  see  here,  so  beautiful  and  so  grand, 
will  soon  be  laid  in  ashes."  And  as  the  astonished  princess 
exclaimed  against  this  prophecy,  "Yes,"  he  continued,  "A 
strange  man  appeared  to  me  in  my  visions  at  night,  and 
revealed  to  me  the  evil  that  is  done  in  this  house,  and  the 
punishment  that  is  prepared  for  it.  He  told  me  that  he  has 
visited  each  cell  and  each  bed,  and  has  found  not  one  save 
thine  as  it  should  be.  All,  all  the  men  and  all  the  women 
are  either  fast  asleep,  or  waking  to  mischief.  Instead  of 
praying  and  reading  in  their  cells,  they  are  organizing  little 
picnics  in  them,  with  food  and  drink,  or  assembled  for 
tittle-tatde.*     The  maidens,  instead  of  meditating  on  divine 

1  Not  Adamnan  the  historian  and  successor  of  S.  Columba  at  lona. 
*  "  Omnes  prorsus  viri  et  feminae  aut  somno  torpent  inerti,  aut  ad  peccata  vigilant : 
nam  et  domunculae,  quae  ad  orandum  vel  legendum  facts  erant,  nunc  in  commessa- 
tionum,  potationum,  fabulationum  et  ceterarum  sunt  illecebrarum  cubilia  conversae." 
Bed€  iv.  2S. 


><- 


-X 


August  25.] 


S.  Ebb  a.  283 


things,  are  weaving  fine  garments  for  their  own  persons  or  for 
their  friends.  Therefore  a  heavy  vengeance  from  heaven  is 
prepared  against  this  house  and  against  its  inhabitants." 
"Why  did  you  not  tell  me  this  before?"  asked  the  surprised 
abbess.  "  I  feared  to  do  so,"  said  Adamnan,  "  lest  it  should 
trouble  you.  But  you  have  this  consolation,  that  the  de- 
struction of  the  house  will  not  take  place  in  your  days." 

The  vision  having  been  divulged,  the  inmates  of  the 
double  monastery  were  affected  with  compunction,  and  for 
a  while^  became  demure  and  orderly  in  their  conduct.  But 
it  did  not  last  long.  Shortly  after  S.  Ebba  died,  and  then 
all  went  on  as  before,  and  even  worse,  so  that  the  burning 
of  the  monastery  ended  a  scandal  throughout  the  country. 
It  does  not  speak  much  for  the  common  sense  of  S.  Ebba 
to  have  founded  such  an  establishment,  nor  for  her  capa- 
bility of  governing,  that  she  should  have  been  profoundly 
ignorant  of  the  disorders  which  took  place  under  the  same 
roof  till  enlightened  by  Adamnan.  She  was  not  a  Hilda, 
able  to  rule  and  keep  in  propriety  an  institution  with  the 
elements  of  mischief  existing  in  its  very  constitution.  There 
is  no  report  of  frolicsomeness  in  the  monks  and  nuns  of 
Whitby.  The  scandals  of  Coldingham  indicate  the  in- 
capacity of  the  abbess,  a  worthy,  devout  woman,  but 
occupying  a  position  of  extraordinary  difficulty  she  had 
created  for  herself,  and  which  she  was  utterly  incompetent 
to  fill — a  feature  not  exceptional  in  weak  people. 

On  April  2nd  is  commemorated  another  S.  Ebba  of 
Coldingham,  abbess  in  a.d,  870,  when  the  convent  without 
the  adjacent  monastery  had  been  re-erected,  and  a  more 
orderly  sisterhood  filled  it.  In  that  year  the  Danes  invaded 
Northumbria,  and  would  have  insulted  the  virgins  of  Col- 
dingham and  carried  them  to  their  homes  as  slaves  and 
concubines,  had  not  the  maidens  at  the  instigation  of  their 

1  "Aliquantulum:" 


>■*- 


284  Lives  of  the  Saints,  t^ugust  25. 

abbess  cut  off  their  lips  and  noses.  When  the  barbarians 
broke  into  the  nunnery  they  were  so  infuriated  at  the  dis- 
figurement, that  they  massacred  Ebba  and  her  daughters. 


S.    LOUIS,    K.C. 

(a.d.  1270.) 

[Roman  and  Gallican  Martyrologies.  Canonized  by  Boniface  VIII.  in 
1296.  Authorities  : — A  life  by  Geotlroi  de  Beaulieu,  the  Kings  Confessor 
who  died  1274,  only  four  years  after  the  king.  Another  life  by  an  anonymous 
writer,  the  Confessor  of  Queen  Margaret ;  the  memoirs  of  the  Sieur  de 
Joinville,  the  King's  friend  and  companion.  A  history  of  S.  Louis  by 
Guillaume  de  Nangis  (d.  1301).  Robert  de  Sainceriaux,  "Sermon  en  vers 
sur  la  mort  du  roy  S.  Louys."  The  bull  of  canpnization  published  by 
Boniface  VIII.  in  1296;  an  "  Epistola  super  obitu  Ludovici  IX."  ap. 
Duchesne,  Script.  Hist.  Franc.,  v.  p.  440.  "  Epistola  Thunensis  episc.  ad 
Theobaldum  regem  Navarrag  de  felice  obitu  S.  Ludovici,"  ap.  Martene, 
Collect.  Ampl.,  vi.  p.  121 8  ;  "  Gesta  S.  Ludovici  autore  monacho  S.  Dionysii 
anonymo,"  ap.  Duchesne  ;  "  De  vita  et  actibus  Ludovici  IX.,"  by  William 
of  Chartres,  royal  chaplain,  ap.  Duchesne,  v.  p.  466.  Much  valuable  matter 
relating  to  the  life  and  times  of  S.  Louis  has  been  collected  by  modern 
historians.  Le  Nain  de  Tillemont  (d.  1698)  compiled  a  voluminous 
collection  of  extracts  relating  to  the  reign  of  S.  Louis,  arranged  in 
methodical  and  chronological  order,  and  comprising  almost  every  fact  01 
importance  then  known  to  bear  on  the  subject.  "Vie  de  S.  Louis,"  par 
Le  Nain  de  Tillemont,  Paris,  1847-51.  For  a  list  of  147  works  bearing  on 
S.  Louis,  see  Catalogue  de  la  bibliotheque  impdriale,  Paris,  1855  ;  also 
Struve,  Bibl.  historica,  ed.  Mensel,  vii.  2,  pp.  74 — 80.  In  addition  to  those 
mentioned  in  these  two  works,  see  Bastie  : — La  vie  de  S.  Louis,  in  M^m. 
de  I'Acad.  des  Inscriptions,  xv.  pp.  692 — 736  ;  Lebeuf,  Remarques  critiques 
sur  les  actes  de  S.  Louis,  nouvellement  publics  par  les  Bollandistes,  in 
M^m.  de  I'Acad.  des  Inscript.,  xvi.  p.  186  ;  De  Wailly,  Examen  critique  de 
la  vie  de  S.  Louis  par  Geoffroy  de  Beaulieu,  1.  c.  xv.  p.  403.  Bibliotheque 
de  I'dcole  des  chartes,  v.  p.  205.  Chabannes,  Vie  du  bienheureux  Th. 
Helye,  aumdnier  de  S.  Louis,  Tournai,  1863  ;  Documenti  inediti  riguardanti 
li  due  crociate  di  san  Ludovico,  illustr.  da  Belgrano ;  Genova,  1859. 
Lettres  des  ^veques  de  la  province  de  Reims  de  1274  pour  la  canonisation 
de  Louis  IX.  ap.  Marlot,  Hist,  de  Reims,  p.  3,  &c.] 

"  There  are  perhaps,"  says  M.  Guizot,  "only  two  princes 
who,  on  every  occasion,  formed  the  first  rule  of  their  con- 
duct from  their  moral  creeds — Marcus  Aurelius,  a  Stoic; 


►i<- 


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purccf    loyj,  banf    [c^Lifc  ^X.  'Dinve    ^)c    ilif 
■>Lcin\i.   par  Tre  s   rcucrcno   •pete   crv  bvculi'  ri, 
TOcffif«  pac<rucj  V     Cafocg'cj'  ^vxcfimc  Oc   JfiiiJ 

cn^rcfciVfe  W  Roy  tiingUtcrrc ct  bcs  pj-uvce.s  'V  i''^ 
frercs  bu  v(y»irefrc,  ooni  moult  jTit^/ano   \ojc,  £"^ 


CORONATION    OF   S.   LOUIS  AT   REIMS. 


Aug..  p.  284.1 


[Aug.  25. 


August  35.] 


6'.  Louis.  285 


Saint  Louis,  a  Christian."^  Even  the  freethinker  Gibbon 
could  not  fail  to  admire  the  beauty  of  the  character  of 
S.  Louis  :  "  He  united  the  virtues  of  a  king,  a  hero,  and  a 
man  ;"*  and  Voltaire  sums  up  his  character  in  the  emphatic 
word,  "  Never  has  it  been  accorded  to  man  to  push  virtue 
further."* 

The  life  of  S.  Louis  is  eminently  instructive,  for,  as  has 
been  judiciously  remarked,  "  This  prince  showed  that  it  is 
not  impossible  to  ally  the  majesty  of  the  throne  with  the 
holiness  of  the  Gospel,  that  without  quitting  the  most 
exalted  rank,  one  may  practise  the  humiliations  of  penitence, 
that  a  really  Christian  king  renders  his  greatness  independent 
of  events,  and  fears  not  to  lose  through  adversity  what 
prosperity  could  not  have  accorded  him."* 

Louis  VIII.  was  returning  (a.d.  1226)  from  an  expedition 
against  Languedoc,  which  Amaury  de  Montfort  had  ceded 
to  the  crown  of  France,  when  he  was  attacked  by  a  fatal 
sickness  at  Montpensier.  The  King  therefore  summoned 
his  barons  about  him,  and  made  them  swear  allegiance  to 
his  eldest  son,  Louis,  then  only  twelve  years  old.  He 
expired  on  All  Saints'  Day,  and  was  buried  at  S.  Denys  by 
the  side  of  his  father,  Philip  Augustus. 

The  young  prince  who  was  now  summoned  to  take 
possession  of  the  splendid  inheritance  of  the  kingdom  of 
France  was  born  in  1215^  on  the  feast  of  S.  Mark,  and  was 
baptized  at  Poissi  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine,*    His  early 

1  HisL  de  la  Civil.  Frangaise,  sect  xiv.  *  Decline  and  Fall,  c  6. 

'  Essai  sur  les  Moeurs  des  Nations,  c  58. 

*  Hist,  de  France,  par  I'Abbe  de  Choisy,  Paris,  1750. 

'  In  the  parish  church  is  shown  a  font,  in  which  it  is  said  the  Royal  Saint  was  bap- 
tized, but  the  font  is  certainly — in  its  present  condition — of  later  date.  In  one  of  the 
windows  of  the  chapel  that  contains  it,  is  stained  glass  of  the  i6th  century,  on  which 
are  inscribed  the  following  lines : — 

"  Saint  Louis  fut  enfant  ne  de  Poissi 
El  baptise  en  la  presente  ^glise, 
Les  fonts  en  sont  gardes  encore  ici, 
Et  conserves  comme  relique  exquise." 


*- 


286  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  25. 


guide  was  his  mother,  Blanche  of  Castile,  daughter  of 
Alfonso  IX.  and  Eleanor  of  England,  daughter  of  King 
John. 

"  If  lusty  love  should  go  in  quest  of  beauty, 
Where  should  he  find  it  fairer  than  in  Blanche  ? 
If  zealous  love  should  go  in  search  of  virtue, 
Where  should  he  find  it  fairer  than  in  Blanche  ? 
If  love  ambitious  sought  a  match  of  birth, 
Whose  veins  bound  richer  blood  than  royal  Blanche?"' 

At  the  age  of  thirty-eight  the  matronly  comeliness  of  the 
Queen  was  as  attractive  as  her  maiden  grace  had  been  when 
a  child-bride  of  twelve  summers. 

She  had  carefully,  tenderly,  religiously  nurtured  her  son. 
Her  example  was  as  white  and  comely  as  her  name  and 
face.  Her  treatment  of  Louis  showed  no  indulgence  for 
laxity  of  thought  and  conduct.  Once  in  his  early  youth  he 
had  looked  with  kindling  eye  on  some  fair  damsel.  "I 
had  rather  he  were  dead,"  said  the  mother,  "  than  that  he 
should  commit  sin." 

S.  Louis  was  crowned  at  Reims  on  the  First  Sunday  in 
Advent,  a.d.  1226,  by  the  Bishop  of  Soissons,  for  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Reims  was  at  that  time  vacant.  During  the 
young  King's  minority  Blanche  of  Castile  assumed  the 
regency. 

On  April  the  25th,  a.d.  1228,  S.  Louis  entered  on  his 
fourteenth  year,  and  was  forthwith  given  a  tutor  to  instruct 
him  in  letters  and  manners.  The  King  used  himself  to 
relate  in  after  days  how  hardly  the  tutor  had  treated  him, 
and  how  he  forced  Latin  into  his  head  by  blows  of  a  stick. 

The  young  King  was  fair  complexioned,  and  had  inherited 
from  his  grandmother,  Isabelle  of  Hainault,  the  handsome 
features  of  that  family.  His  expression  was  so  sweet  and 
winning,  that,  we  are  told,  no  one  could  look  him  in  the  face 
without  loving  him.     These  characteristics  are  borne  out  by 

I  King  John,  act  ii.  sc.  a. 


* 


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r. 


August  25.] 


iS.  Loziis.  287 


the  only  authentic  portrait  of  the  good  King  now  extant, 
which  though  representing  him  at  a  comparatively  advanced 
age,  shows  a  remarkable  union  of  beauty  and  feature  and 
gentleness  of  expression.^ 

The  first  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  IX.  were  not  un- 
disturbed. The  powerful  barons  revolted,  and  were  brought 
to  obedience.  Into  the  political  history  of  the  time  it  is  not 
my  purpose  to  enter,  further  than  is  necessary  to  illustrate 
the  character  of  S.  Louis.  It  is  accessible  to  every  reader 
in  the  history  of  France.  On  the  throne  S.  Louis  attracted 
unbounded  admiration  both  by  his  virtues  and  by  his 
amiability.  His  was  a  frank  playfulness,  or  amenity,  at 
least,  of  manner,  which  Henry  IV.  never  surpassed,  and  a 
blaraelessness  hardly  ever  before,  till  very  recent  times  never 
after,  seen  on  the  throne  of  France. 

He  had  kingly  qualities  of  the  noblest  order,  gentleness, 
affability,  humanity,  a  passionate  love  of  justice  and 
truth  and  honour  which  saved  him  from  committing  those 
errors,  those  wrongs  against  the  eternal  principles  of  riglit, 
which  a  superstitious  character  might  have  readily  fallen 
into,  connived  at,  or  openly  advocated,  as  they  too  often 
were,  by  the  clergy  of  that  period.  No  act  of  religious  per- 
secution sullies  the  lilies  of  the  crown  of  Louis  IX.  When 
Innocent  IV.  excommunicated  the  Emperor  Frederick  II., 
deposed  him  from  his  throne,  and  oftered  the  imperial  crown 
as  a  flattering  bait  to  Louis  for  his  brother,  the  saintly  King 
coldly  refused  it.  Though  solicited  by  the  Pope  most 
urgently  to  take  up  arms  against  the  German  Emperor,  of 
whose  power  Gregory  IX.  and  Innocent  IV.  were  jealous, 
and  whom  they  were  bent  on  humbling,  Louis  refused  to 
permit  the  levy  of  subsidies  in  the  realm  of  France,  to  aid  a 
war  which  his  conscience  told  him  was  unjust. 

'  The  reliquary  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  a  bust  of  gold  richly  jewelled,  this  was 
melted  up  in  the  first  revolution  ;  but  an  accurate  engraving  of  it  had  been  made  by 
Ducange  for  his  edition  of  Joinville's  Memoirs. 


*- 


->.^ 


288 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  as 


At  all  the  great  religious  seasons  of  fasting,  the  young  King 
observed  the  strictest  abstinence.  Only  once  in  the  year 
would  he  allow  himself  to  taste  fruit ;  he  wore  the  roughest 
sackcloth  next  his  skin.  His  spiritual  director  persuaded 
him  to  less  severe  observance,  to  deny  himself  only  unripe 
fruit,  and  to  wear  sackcloth  of  less  fretting  texture.  Every 
Friday,  and  in  Lent  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays, 
he  shut  himself  up  in  his  chamber,  searching  every  corner, 
lest  any  one  should  be  present,  with  his  confessor,  the 
Dominican,  Geoffroy  de  Beaulieu,  who  administered  to  him 
with  heavy,  unsparing  hand,  a  discipline  of  wire.  One  day 
he  made  a  pilgrimage  with  bare  feet  from  Nogent  I'Erembert 
to  the  church  of  Our  Lady  at  Chartres,  a  distance  of  four 
leagues  ;  his  bleeding  feet  became  so  inflamed  that  he  could 
only  complete  this  journey  by  leaning  on  the  arms  of  his 
attendants.  He  constantly  washed  the  feet  of  beggars, 
invited  the  poor  to  his  table,  and  visited  the  sick  in  their 
cottages  or  in  hospitals.  A  leper  on  the  farther  side  of  a 
swamp  begged  of  him.  Louis  waded  through  the  morass  to 
relieve  the  poor  wretch.  He  heard  daily  two,  sometimes 
three  or  four,  masses ;  as  he  rode,  his  chaplain  recited  the 
offices.  A  Dominican  preacher  urged  him  to  moderate  his 
enthusiasm,  one  mass  a  day  was  ample  ;  the  royal  dignity 
moreover  was  injured  by  association  with  beggars.  "  If  I 
spent  twice  as  much  time  in  dice  and  hawking,  should  I  be 
so  rebuked  ?"  answered  the  gentle  King. 

He  bore  even  reproach  with  meekness.  A  woman  named 
Sarrete,  pleading  in  the  king's  court,  said,  "  Fie  !  you  are 
not  King  of  France  ;  you  are  only  a  king  of  friars,  priests, 
and  clerks.  It  is  a  pity  you  are  King ;  you  should  be  turned 
out  of  your  sovereignty."  The  blessed  King  would  not  allow 
his  attendants  to  chastise  the  woman.  "  You  say  true,"  he 
answered.  "  It  has  pleased  the  Lord  to  make  me  king ;  but 
I  well  know  that  it  would  have  been  well  had  he  appointed 


-* 


S,  LOUIS  UNDER  DISCIPLINE.         S.  LOUIS  FEEDIXG  THE  LEPER. 
From  a  Window  in  the  Abbey  of  S.  Denis,  XIV.  Cent. 


Aug.,  p.  288.] 


[Aug.  25. 


-* 


August  25.  J 


S.  Louis.  289 


some  one  more  competent  than  myself  to  rule  this  realm." 
And  he  sent  her  away  with  liberal  alms. 

The  King  at  one  time  suffered  from  a  boil  on  his  leg.  In 
his  bedroom  slept  one  or  two  of  his  servants  and  an  old 
man  named  John,  who  had  been  nightwatch  with  Philip 
Augustus.  One  night  after  Louis  had  undressed  by  the  fire- 
light and  was  going  to  bed,  he  tried  to  look  at  his  boil,  and 
see  whether  it  was  redder  than  the  day  before.  John  lit  a 
wax-candle  and  brought  it  over  to  assist  at  the  inspection, 
but  inadvertently  let  fall  some  scalding  wax  on  the  inflamed 
spot  of  flesh.  The  King  bounded  into  bed,  crying  "  Hei  ! 
hei !  hei !"  Said  the  old  man,  "  What  is  this  outcry  about  ; 
have  I  hurt  you  ?"  "  For  a  less  matter  my  grandfather 
turned  you  out  of  your  ofiice  of  nightwatch  !"  said  the 
smarting  King.  This  was  true,  old  John  had  been  dis- 
missed by  Philip  Augustus  for  poking  the  fire  noisily  during 
the  night.  It  struck  the  servants  of  King  Louis  with 
amazement  that  the  old  man  was  not  punished  for  dropping 
the  wax. 

But,  above  all  exaggeration  of  virtue,  there  were  high 
Christian  graces  of  a  nobler  order,  conscientiousness  which 
never  swerved  either  through  ambition  or  policy  from  strict 
rectitude.  No  acquisition  of  territory,  no  extension  of  the 
royal  power,  would  have  tempted  Louis  IX.  to  imjust 
aggression.  He  was  strongly  urged  to  put  to  death  the  son 
of  the  chief  of  the  rebels  in  arms  against  him,  the  Count  de 
la  Marche,  who  had  fallen  into  his  hands.  He  nobly  replied, 
"  A  son  cannot  refuse  to  obey  his  father's  orders."  The 
one  great  war  in  which  he  was  involved,  before  his  departure 
for  the  Crusade,  which  ended  in  the  humiliation  of  the  great 
vassals  of  the  Crown,  and  of  the  leader  in  that  revolt,  Henry 
in.  of  England,  the  chief  of  those  great  vassals,  was  pro- 
voked by  no  oppression  or  injustice  on  his  part,  was 
conducted  with  moderation  unusual  in  that  age ;  and  his 

VOL.   IX.  IQ 


290  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 

victory  was  not  sullied  by  any  act  of  wanton  revenge  or 
abuse  of  power.  If  he  published  an  oppressive  act  against 
the  Jews,  it  was  to  insist  on  all  debts  due  to  them  being 
cleared  off  before  the  termination  of  three  years,  and  to 
forbid  his  subjects  in  future  borrowing  money  from  them — 
the  object  was  not  persecution  of  the  Hebrews,  but  the 
prevention  of  usury. 

In  1234  Louis  married  Marguerite  of  Provence,  a  maiden 
as  comely  in  face  as  she  was  virtuous  in  her  conduct.  They 
lived  happily  together  in  the  warmest  attachment,  only 
troubled  in  the  first  years  of  their  married  hfe  by  the  jealousy 
of  Queen  Blanche,  who  was  ill  pleased  to  see  her  power, 
authority,  and  influence  slip  away.  She  behaved  with  sin- 
gular want  of  kindness  at  a  period  when  women's  sympathies 
are  usually  most  lively  ;  but  S.  Louis  bore  his  mother's 
roughness  without  resentment,  at  least  without  open  expres- 
sion of  annoyance. 

On  the  loth  of  December,  1244,  S.  Louis  was  seized  at 
Pontoise  with  a  violent  attack  of  dysentery  and  tertian  ague. 
His  illness  increased,  and  he  sent  for  all  the  officers  of  his 
household  and  took  leave  of  them,  humbly  thanking  them 
for  the  services  they  had  rendered  him.  Having  arranged 
all  his  worldly  affairs,  he  prepared  for  death,  and  fell  into  a 
trance  which  deprived  him  of  consciousness,  so  that  one  of 
his  nurses,  thinking  him  dead,  would  have  covered  his  face 
with  a  cloth,  had  not  her  hand  been  stayed  by  a  companion. 
A  low  sob  gave  token  that  he  was  not  as  yet  dead,  and 
presently  the  king  extended  his  arm  and  murmured,  "  Visi- 
■  tavit  me  per  Dei  gratiam.  Oriens  ex  alto,  et  a  mortuis 
revocavit  me."  (The  dayspring  from  on  high  hath  visited 
me  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  hath  called  me  back  from 
death.) 

When  a  little  further  recovered,  he  sent  for  the  Bishop  of 
Paris,  and  said,  "  My  Lord  Bishop  !  put,  I  pray  thee,  on  my 


S.    LOUIS  OX    HIS    KXliES   BEFORE   CHRIST  AND   THE 
BLESSED   VIRGIN. 


Aug.,  p.  290.] 


[Au^.  25. 


August  QS.^ 


S.  L 


otns. 


291 


shoulder  the  cross  of  voyage  beyond  the  sea."  The  bishop 
saw  the  folly  and  danger  of  the  demand ;  seconded  by  the 
Bishop  of  Meaux,  he  endeavoured  to  turn  the  King  from  his 
purpose.  He  was  resolute.  When  Blanche,  the  Queen- 
mother,  came  into  the  sick-room,  and  saw  her  son  crossed  for 
the  Crusade,  she  recoiled  aghast.  Her  prudence  showed  her 
the  madness  of  the  undertaking,  and  she  swooned  away. 

The  same  year  saw  the  birth  to  Louis  of  a  son,  John,  who, 
however,  died  early,  and  the  heirship  passed  to  Philip,  born 
in  1245. 

In  1245,  in  furtherance  of  his  vow,  S.  Louis  convoked  a 
parliament  at  Paris,  which  was  attended  by  many  of  the 
great  prelates  and  barons.  The  Archbishops  of  Reims  and 
Bourges,  the  Bishops  of  Beauvais,  Laon  and  Orleans,  the 
King's  brothers,  Robert,  Alphonsus  and  Charles,  the  Dukes 
of  Burgundy  and  Brabant,  the  Counts  of  S.  Pol,  Brittany, 
La  Marche,  Montfort,  Bar,  Soissons,  Rhdtel,  and  many 
other  nobles  took  the  cross. 

Yet  the  publication  of  the  Holy  War  created  in  the 
nation  much  more  sorrow  than  warlike  ardour.  Queen 
Blanche  and  the  most  prudent  of  the  ministers,  who  had 
at  first  endeavoured  to  divert  Louis  IX.  from  the  Crusade, 
repeated  their  efforts  several  times,  and  now  resolved  to  make 
a  final  effort. 

They  went  to  the  King  in  a  body.  The  Bishop  of  Paris 
represented  to  Louis  that  a  vow  made  in  sickness  ought 
not  to  bind  him  to  that  which  must  infallibly  interfere 
with  the  interests  of  his  realm  ;  that  the  duty  of  governing 
his  people,  and  maintaining  them  in  peace  and  happiness, 
was  a  duty  prior  to  any  rash  engagement  made  when  his 
mind  was  debilitated  by  weakness.  Many  of  the  nobles 
to  whom  Louis  had  confided  the  most  important  offices  in 
the  State,  spoke  after  the  Bishop  of  Paris  and  to  the  same 
eftect.     Queen  Blanche  spoke  last.     "  My  son,"  said  she, 

19 — 2 


* qt 

292  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  .5. 

"  Providence  used  me  to  watch  over  your  infancy  and 
preserve  your  crown.  I  have  therefore  a  right  to  remind 
you  of  your  duties  as  a  monarch,  and  of  the  obHgations 
which  the  safety  of  the  kingdom  over  which  God  has  placed 
you  imposes  upon  you.  If  you  depart,  the  country  will  be 
torn  by  factions.  Your  children  need  your  presence,  your 
daily  lessons,  and  your  guidance.  Are  they  not  dearer  to  you 
than  the  Christians  of  the  East  ?  Remain  then  in  Europe, 
where  you  will  have  so  many  opportunities  of  displa}'ing  the 
virtues  of  a  great  king,  of  a  king  who  is  the  father  of  his  sub- 
jects, the  model  and  support  of  the  princes  of  his  house." 

Then  she  burst  into  tears,  and  Louis  was  moved.  He 
rose  and  threw  himself  into  his  mother's  arms.  But  his 
determination  was  unaltered.  When  he  spoke,  it  was  to 
announce  to  them  that  nothing  would  alter  his  purpose. 
The  deputation  withdrew  in  silence,  with  their  hearts 
oppressed  by  gloomy  anticipations. 

At  Christmas,  1245,  Louis  practised  perhaps  the  only  act 
of  treachery  of  which  he  was  guilty  in  his  life.  It  was  the 
custom  for  the  kings  of  France,  at  great  solemnities,  to  give 
such  of  their  subjects  as  were  at  Court  certain  capes  or 
furred  mantles,  with  which  the  latter  immediately  clothed 
themselves  before  leaving  Court.  In  the  ancient  accounts 
these  capes  are  called  livrees,  whence  our  word  livery, 
because  the  monarch  gave  them  {les  Hvrait)  himself.  Louis 
ordered  a  vast  number  of  these  to  be  prepared  against 
Christmas  Eve,  upon  which  crosses  were  embroidered  in  silk. 
At  the  proper  moment,  in  the  dusk,  before  adjourning  to 
■  the  chapel  for  the  religious  offices  of  the  eve,  every  one 
covered  himself  with  the  cape  that  had  been  given  him, 
and  followed  the  monarch  to  the  chapel.  By  the  light  of 
the  wax-tapers  they  perceived  upon  all  before  them  and  on 
themselves,  the  sign  of  an  engagement  they  had  never  con- 
tracted.    It  would  have  been  indecent,  have  betrayed  an 

* __ ^ 


li^. 


-H^ 


August  as-1 


6*.  Louis. 


293 


unknightly  shrinking  from  danger,  to  throw  aside  the  crosses  ; 
so,  with  true  French  levity,  they  laughed  and  wept  at  once, 
and  made  up  their  minds  to  accompany  their  master  on  his 
dangerous  expedition,  and  extract  from  it  what  pleasure 
they  might. 

From  this  time  the  whole  thoughts  of  Louis  were  absorbed 
in  the  Crusade.  He  resisted  the  offers  of  Pope  Innocent  to 
befriend  him  in  a  war  against  England — even  an  invasion 
of  England.  He  took  no  part  in  the  confederacy  of  the 
French  nobility  to  resist  the  exactions  of  the  Pope  and  of 
the  hierarchy.  So  far,  on  the  other  hand,  had  his  strife 
with  the  Emperor  absorbed  all  other  religious  passions  in 
the  Pope,  that  not  only  was  there  no  cordial  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  Innocent  in  the  Crusade  of  S.  Louis,  but 
absolutions  from  their  vows  were  sold  freely  to  Crusaders  to 
provide  the  Pope  with  funds  for  carrying  on  his  contest 
with  the  German  Emperor. 

The  Crusaders  were  invited  by  Innocent  into  Italy  to 
fight  the  Christian  soldiers  of  Frederick  II.,  and  all  the 
privileges,  indulgences,  and  blessings  which  would  be  theirs 
if  they  crossed  the  sea  to  fight  the  Mussulman  would  be 
theirs  on  the  easier  terms  of  a  campaign  in  Italy,  in  union 
with  the  forces  of  the  Pope.  S.  Louis  passed  down  the 
Rhone ;  he  was  urged  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  father  on 
rebellious  Avignon,  before  whose  walls  Louis  VIII.  had 
contracted  the  fever  which  ended  his  days.  "  I  have  taken 
up  arms  to  revenge  Jesus  Christ,  not  my  father,"  said  the 
King. 

The  island  of  Cyprus  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  the 
Crusaders.  In  Cyprus  there  was  a  delay  of  eight  months. 
Want  of  discipline  and  a  fatal  epidemic  made  great  ravages 
in  the  army  ;  but  for  supplies  sent  by  the  Emperor  Frederick 
there  would  have  been  famine.  The  grateful  Louis  made  an 
effort  to  mediate  between  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor,  but 


*- 


* 


294  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustus. 

his  overture  was  contemptuously  rejected.  Messages  from 
the  Christians  beyond  the  seas  were  sent  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  to  intercede  for  Frederick,  who  offered,  if  Innocent 
would  cancel  his  sentence  against  him,  to  descend  from  his 
throne,  and  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  Palestine. 
The  offer  of  the  Emperor  was  fettered  with  the  condition 
that  his  son  Conrad  should  succeed  him.  Innocent  would 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the  complete  ruin  of  the 
Hohenstauffen  race.  The  Patriarch  of  Armenia  wrote  to 
the  Court  of  Rome  to  demand  favour  for  Frederick ;  he 
demanded  it  in  the  name  of  the  threatened  Christian 
colonies  ;  in  the  name  of  the  City  of  God,  fallen  into  ruins  ; 
in  the  name  of  the  sepulchre  of  Christ,  profaned  by  bar- 
barians. The  Pope  disdained  even  to  reply  to  this  letter. 
Innocent  did  not  blush  to  write  to  the  Sultan  of  Cairo,  and 
invite  him  to  break  the  truce  he  had  concluded  with 
Frederick.  The  Sultan  haughtily  replied,  that  Moslems 
were  accustomed  to  regard  their  promises  as  sacred.  In 
concluding  a  peace  with  the  Emperor  Frederick,  the 
Sultan  supposed  that  he  was  making  one  with  Western 
Christendom.  He  was  therefore  surprised  and  distressed 
when  from  Cyprus  he  received  a  declaration  of  war  from 
Louis  of  France.  He  is  said  to  have  wept  when  he  received 
the  letter.  His  answer  was  a  passage  from  the  Koran  : — 
"They  who  fight  unjustly  shall  perish." 

This  message  contained  predictions  that  were  but  too 
fully  realized  in  the  end. 

The  signal  for  departure  was  given  on  Friday  before 
Pentecost,  a.d.  i2'49,  and  a  numerous  fleet,  in  which  were 
embarked  the  French  army  and  the  warriors  of  the  isle  of 
Cyprus,  sailed  gallantly  out  of  the  port  of  Limisso.  The 
fleet  was  scattered  by  tempest,  and  it  was  not  till  Trinity 
Sunday,  May  30th,  that  they  were  able  again  to  start  from 
Limisso,  into  which  they  had  put  back. 


*- 


-* 


*- 


-* 


August  35.] 


^.  Louis. 


295 


On  the  fourth  day,  at  sumise,  the  watch  on  deck  cried, 
*  Land !  land  !"  A  sailor,  who  served  as  pilot,  ascended 
to  the  round-top  of  the  leading  vessel,  and  declared  that 
they  were  off  Damietta.  A  landing  was  effected,  and  after 
a  feeble  resistance,  the  city  was  deserted  by  the  Saracens, 
and  the  Christian  host  entered  Damietta  in  triumph  at  the 
easy  victory,  and  with  sanguine  expectations  of  future  suc- 
cesses. But  never  were  the  terror  and  advantages  of  a  first 
success  so  thrown  away.  Months  were  wasted.  While 
Louis  spent  his  time  in  devotion,  the  Crusaders  abandoned 
themselves  to  every  kind  of  oriental  debauchery  and  occi- 
dental riot.  S.  Louis  had  dismissed  some  of  his  servants 
in  France  for  not  having  fasted  on  Friday  ;  he  was  obliged 
in  Egypt  to  wink  at  their  commission  of  much  graver 
faults. 

An  interchange  of  half  playful,  half  insulting  letters 
between  the  Sultan  and  S.  Louis  amused  the  tedium  of  the 
inactivity  of  both  parties.  The  Mussulman  prince  in  one  of 
his  letters  congratulated  the  King  of  France  on  his  arrival  in 
Egypt,  and  asked  him  at  what  period  it  would  please  him  to 
depart  again.  In  another  letter,  he  offered  the  King  a  general 
battle  on  the  2Sth  day  of  June  at  a  place  to  be  determined 
upon.  Louis  IX.  answered  the  first  letter  of  the  Sultan  by 
saying  that  he  had  landed  in  Egypt  on  the  day  he  had 
appointed,  and  as  to  the  day  of  his  departure,  he  would 
think  about  it  at  leisure.  With  regard  to  the  proposed 
battle,  the  King  contented  himself  with  replying  that  he 
would  neither  accept  the  day  nor  choose  the  place,  because 
all  days  and  all  places  were  equally  fit  for  fighting  with 
infidels. 

In  the  meantime  a  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  manifested 
itself  in  the  Christian  host,  condemned  to  waste  precious 
time  in  inactivity.  The  knights  forgot  both  their  warlike 
vurtues  and  the  object  of  the  Holy  War.     The  riches  of 


*- 


-* 


296  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 

Egypt  and  the  East  having  been  promised  them,  they 
squandered  the  money  they  had  raised  in  Europe  by  the 
sale  or  mortgage  of  their  estates  upon  festivities  and 
debauchery.  The  passion  for  gaming  got  possession  of  both 
leaders  and  soldiers;  and  after  losing  their  fortune,  they 
risked  even  their  horses  and  arms.  Damietta  swarmed  with 
camp-followers  ministering  to  the  passions  of  the  soldiers ; 
the  leaders  pillaged  the  traders  who  provisioned  the  camp, 
so  that  Damietta  was  threatened  mth  famine.  The  most 
ardent  made  distant  excursions,  surprised  caravans,  devas- 
tated villages,  and  bore  away  Mussulman  women,  whom  they 
brought  as  spoil  to  the  Christian  camp.  As  corruption 
increased,  the  authority  of  the  King  waned,  and  was  daily 
less  respected.  The  Earl  of  Salisbury,  to  whom  the  Count 
d'Artois  had  behaved  ill,  complained  of  him  to  Louis,  but 
could  obtain  no  satisfaction.  He  left  in  anger  and  disgust, 
after  having  flung  at  S.  Louis  the  bitter  taunt,  "  If  you  are 
not  able  to  administer  justice,  you  are  not  a  king." 

At  length,  after  the  loss  of  five  precious  months,  the  dis- 
organized, demoralized  Christian  army  was  set  in  motion. 
Louis,  though  brave  as  a  hero,  was  incompetent  as  a  general. 
He  led  the  host  into  a  trap.  The  Crusaders  followed  the 
canal  of  Aschmoum  till  they  reached  a  comer  where  they 
were  enclosed  as  in  a  cul-de-sac,  and  where  they  were  dis- 
tressed by  the  flying  bands  of  the  enemy,  who  rained  on 
them  the  torturing  Greek  fire.  When  Louis  IX.  saw  the 
flaming  barrels  with  their  tails  of  fire  shot  across  the  sky, 
and  explode  in  a  burning  torrent  over  his  soldiers,  he  burst 
into  tears,  and  piteously  exclaimed,  "Great  God!  Jesus 
Christ,  protect  me  and  all  my  people  ! " 

A  month  was  expended  in  this  place,  in  vain  endeavours 
to  bridge  over  the  canal  and  escape  from  it.  The  treason 
of  an  Arab  revealed  to  them  a  ford,  or  their  camp  would 
have  been  the  grave  of  the  army.     The  canal  was  passed, 

ij, — >^ 


-;^''^'?*lirrj-n;^'-'^^:i,Tii 


|P^a'«S^'\^., 


S.   LOUIS   BURYING   THE   DECOMPOSED    BODIES  OF   CRUSADERS. 

From  a  Mural  Painting  by  L.  Matout  at  S.  Sulpice,  Paris. 

Aug.,  p.  296.]  [Aug.  25. 


*- 


August  35.1 


iS.  Louis.  297 


and  the  host  extricated  from  the  fatal  position  in  which  bad 
generalship  had  involved  it.  The  unrivalled  valour  of  the 
French  was  wasted  in  unprofitable  victories  or  in  miserable 
defeats.  The  camp  was  formed  on  the  further  side  of  the 
canal ;  the  army  could  not  advance,  and  would  not  retreat. 
It  wasted  away ;  almost  all  its  horses  were  dead,  and  many 
of  its  most  gallant  warriors  had  fallen  by  the  sword  of  the 
enemy  or  by  disease.  The  canal  was  poisoned  by  the  dead 
bodies  floating  in  it,  and  exhaled  pestilential  effluvia. 

Scurvy  ravaged  the  host.  Louis  IX.  employed  every 
effort  to  mitigate  the  evils  that  desolated  the  army.  If  any- 
thing could  have  consoled  the  Crusaders  in  tlieir  miserable 
plight  it  must  have  been  to  see  a  king  of  France  himself 
attending  the  sick,  lavishing  upon  them  every  kind  of  assis- 
tance, and  preparing  them  for  death.  In  vain  was  he 
conjiu-ed  not  to  expose  himself  to  dangers  greater  than 
those  of  the  battlefield;  nothing  could  shake  his  courage 
or  check  the  ardour  of  his  charity ;  he  considered  it  a  duty, 
he  said,  to  expose  his  life  for  those  who  every  day  exposed 
theirs  for  him.  He  might  have  added,  whom  his  rash 
enthusiasm  and  want  of  military  skill  had  brought  to 
destruction.  One  of  his  servants,  a  worthy  man,  being  at 
the  point  of  death,  and  exhorted  to  meet  his  fate  like  a 
Christian,  replied,  "  I  cannot  die  till  I  have  seen  the  King." 
Louis  heard  of  the  sick  man's  desire,  and  hastened  to  him. 
The  man  died  in  peace  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  his  beloved 
master,  consoled  by  his  words  of  sympathy.  But  at  lengdi 
he  who  consoled  all  others  fell  sick  himself  The  King  was 
unable  to  leave  his  tent ;  the  desolation  became  more  pro- 
found and  general ;  the  sufferers  lost  hope  ;  it  seemed  as  if 
Providence  had  abandoned  them,  as  if  heaven  had  doomed 
to  destruction  the  soldiers  of  the  Cross. 

The  Saracens  remained  motionless  in  their  camp,  leaving 
their  awful  auxiliaries,  disease  and  famine,  to  perform  tlieir 


-* 


^« >J« 

298  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  25. 

mission  undisturbed.  The  galleys  of  the  enemy  cut  off 
communication  with  Damietta ;  neither  bread  nor  news 
reached  the  perishing  Crusaders.  Both  leaders  and  soldiers 
were  seized  with  the  deepest  despondency ;  and  the  King  at 
length  judged  it  best  to  attempt  to  negotiate  a  truce  with 
the  Mussulmans.  The  Sultan  insisted  on  the  surrender  of 
the  French  King  into  his  hands  as  hostage.  The  King  would 
willingly  have  purchased  the  safety  of  his  people  on  these 
terms,  but  a  crowd  of  warriors  warmly  declared  that  they 
could  not  suffer  such  a  disgrace,  and  that  they  would  die 
rather  than  place  their  King  in  pledge. 

At  last,  finding  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  advancing, 
on  the  5  th  of  April  the  camp  broke  up,  after  having  consumed 
four  months  in  their  charnel-house  on  the  Aschrnoum  canal, 
and  lost  the  only  favourable  opportunities  that  had  pre- 
sented themselves  for  effecting  a  retreat. 

The  women,  the  children,  and  the  sick  were  embarked  on 
the  Nile  by  night,  to  escape  the  observation  of  the  enemy. 
The  bank  of  the  river  presented  the  most  heart-breaking 
spectacle  ;  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  Crusaders  overcome 
by  their  sufferings,  parting,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  from 
friends  they  were  doomed  never  to  see  again.  Amidst  these 
painful  scenes,  the  Arabs  burst  into  the  camp,  plundered  the 
baggage,  and  slaughtered  every  living  creature  they  met 
with.  The  Papal  legate  and  several  French  nobles  were 
placed  on  board  a  large  vessel ;  but  Louis  would  not  leave 
the  army  which  he  had  led  into  such  a  desperate  position. 
In  vain  did  his  anxious  friends  represent  to  him  that  his 
state  of  weakness  would  not  permit  him  to  fight,  and 
exposed  him  to  the  risk  of  faUing  into  the  hands  of  the 
Saracens.  He  replied  that  no  danger  should  separate  him 
from  his  faithful  warriors ;  that  as  he  had  led  them  there  he 
would  retreat  with  them,  and,  if  necessary,  die  in  their 
midst.     His  determination,  the  inevitable  consequences  of 

»j, >i. 


-^ 


August  25.] 


S.  Louis.  299 


which  were  foreseen,  plunged  all  his  knights  in  consterna- 
tion. The  soldiers,  partaking  the  feelings  of  the  knights, 
ran  along  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  crying  to  those  in  the  boats, 
"  Wait  for  the  King  !  wait  for  the  King  !"  Arrows  and 
javelins  were  falling  thick  upon  the  vessels  which  continued 
to  go  down  the  river.  Many  stopped ;  but  Louis  insisted 
on  their  pursuing  their  course.  The  retreat  of  the  army 
was  like  a  rout ;  want  of  discipline  and  despair  had  con 
verted  the  host  into  a  rabble.  The  bridge  over  the  canal 
was  not  destroyed,  so  that  the  Mussulmans  were  enabled  to 
pour  over  it  and  pursue,  then  surround,  the  retreating  army. 
Escape  was  cut  off.  The  Bishop  of  Soissons,  giving  up  all 
hope  of  gaining  Damietta  and  revisiting  France,  resolved  to 
seek  death,  and  rushed,  followed  by  his  knights,  into  the 
thick  of  the  fight,  and  fell.  Sergines,  standing  beside  the 
King,  covered  him  with  his  sword.  Contemporary  history, 
which  describes  him  driving  away  the  Saracens  that 
surrounded  Louis,  compares  him  to  the  servant  who  brushes 
away  the  flies  from  his  master's  cup. 

For  a  moment  the  Christians  were  inspired  with  a 
transient  hope.  A  whirlwind  of  dust  drove  in  the  face  of, 
and  perplexed,  their  adversaries.  The  Sheik  Ezzdin,  seeing 
that  victory  inclined  towards  the  Christians,  raised  his  hands 
to  heaven  and  cried,  "  O  wind  !  direct  thy  breath  against 
our  enemies !"  The  tempest  changed  its  direction  and 
blew  in  the  eyes  of  the  Crusaders.  The  rear-guard  of  the 
Christians,  always  pursued  and  unceasingly  attacked,  arrived 
with  much  difficulty  before  the  little  town  of  Minieh.  The 
King,  escorted  by  a  few  knights,  preceded  the  troops  into 
the  city,  where  he  alighted  as  weak  "  as  a  child  in  its 
mother's  lap."  Fatigue,  sickness,  and  grief  had  so  overcome 
him,  that  all  believed  he  was  about  to  die.  There  the  last 
relics  of  the  Christian  army  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Mussulmans.      The  oriflamme,    the   other   standards,    and 


*- 


tf, * 

300  Lives  of  the  Saints.  fAugust  as- 

the  baggage,  all  became  the  prey  of  the  Saracens.  The 
Crusaders  who  had  embarked  upon  the  Nile  had  no  better 
fate  than  those  who  marched  by  land.  All  their  vessels, 
except  that  of  the  legate,  were  sunk  by  the  tempest,  con- 
sumed by  Greek  fire,  or  taken  by  the  Mussulmans.  More 
than  thirty  thousand  Christians  lost  their  lives  in  those  days 
of  disaster,  killed  on  the  battlefield,  drowned  in  the  Nile, 
or  massacred  after  the  fight. 

Alphonsus  of  Poitou  and  Charles  of  Anjou,  brothers  of 
the  King,  shared  his  captivity.  His  Queen,  far  advanced  in 
pregnancy,  remained  with  an  insufficient  force  in  Damietta. 
She  was  thought  to  be  on  the  point  of  death.  A  knight  of 
more  than  eighty  years  of  age  served  her  as  esquire,  and 
never  left  her  night  or  day.  The  unhappy  Marguerite, 
after  having  for  a  moment  sobbed  herself  to  sleep,  started 
up  in  the  greatest  terror,  imagining  that  her  chamber  was 
filled  with  Saracens.  The  old  knight,  who  had  hold  of  her 
hand  while  she  slept,  pressed  it,  and  said :  "  Be  not  afraid, 
madame,  I  am  with  you."  An  instant  after  she  had  reclosed 
her  eyes  she  awoke  again,  trembling  with  fear,  and  the 
grave  esquire  reassured  her  again.  At  length,  the  Queen 
ordered  every  one  to  leave  the  chamber  except  the  old 
knight,  and  then,  throwing  herself  ou  her  knees  before  him, 
witli  tearful  eyes,  she  said  :  "  Sir  !  I  beseech  you  promise 
me  this,  that  if  the  Saracens  should  take  this  city,  you  will 
strike  off  my  head  rather  than  suffer  me  to  become  their 
captive."  "  Madame,"  answered  he,  "  I  meant  to  do  so,  if 
the  thing  should  so  happen." 

On  the  morrow  she  prematurely  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who 
was  named  Tristan,  in  allusion  to  the  melancholy  circum- 
stances under  which  he  first  saw  the  light. 

Adversity  brought  out  the  greatness  of  the  character  of 
S.  Louis.     He  was  treated  at  first  with  courtesy ;  he  was 
permitted  to  hear  the  canonical  Hours  recited  by  the  single 
priest  who  had  escaped  \  his  breviary,  the  loss  of  which  he 
* 


*- 


August  a$.l 


aS*.  Louis.  301 


deplored  above  all  losses,  was  replaced  by  another.  But  he 
had  the  bitter  aggravation  of  his  misery,  that  of  the  ten 
thousand  prisoners  made  by  the  Saracens,  all  who  would  not 
abandon  their  faith  met  with  a  cruel  death.  But  to  all  the 
courteous  approaches  of  the  Sultan,  Louis  was  jealously  on 
his  guard,  lest  he  should  compromise  his  dignity  as  a  V\x\" 
or  his  purity  as  a  Christian  ;  he  would  not  receive  the  present 
of  a  dress  from  the  unbeliever.  To  his  exorbitant  demands 
and  menaces  he  gave  a  calm  and  determined  reply.  The 
Sultan  demanded  the  surrender  of  all  the  fortresses  in  Syria ; 
these,  it  was  answered,  belonged  not  to  the  King  of  France 
but  to  Frederick  II.  as  King  of  Jerusalem.^  To  that  of 
yielding  up  the  castles  garrisoned  by  the  Knights  of  the 
Temple  and  of  S.  John,  the  answer  was  that  the  Orders 
could  not  surrender  them  without  violating  their  vows.  The 
King  was  threatened  with  torture — torture  of  the  most  cruel 
kind — the  barnacles,  which  crushed  the  legs.  "  I  am  your 
prisoner,"  he  said,  "  ye  may  do  with  me  what  ye  will." 

At  length  a  truce  was  agreed  to  for  ten  years,  Louis  was 
to  surrender  Damietta,  and  pay  as  ransom  a  million  gold 
bezants.  The  ransom  was  paid.  When  it  was  being 
weighed,  De  Montfort,  inheriting  the  family  traditions  of 
how  to  deal  \vith  heretics,  laughingly  told  the  King  that  they 
had  cheated  the  Saracens  of  ten  thousand  bezants.  S.  Louis 
indignantly  scorned  such  baseness,  even  with  infidels,  and 
ordered  the  money  to  be  paid  in  full. 

The  release  of  the  King  on  such  favourable  terms,  at  a 
price  so  much  below  the  value  of  such  a  captive,  astonished 
both  the  Christians  and  the  Mussulmans.  The  Sultan,  how- 
ever, was  anxious  to  be  rid  of  the  invaders,  and  dreaded 
lest  too  great  severity  should  cause  the  other  Christian  kings 
to  arm  for  his  rescue. 

The  King  and  the  remainder  of  his  famishing  army  were 

'  Frederick  claimed  the  crown  of  Jerusalem  as  husband  of  lolante,  daughter  of 
John  de  Erienne. 


^- 


-* 


302  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  35. 


suffered  to  embark  at  Damietta,  after  having  been  regaled 
by  the  Saracens  on  cheese  and  hard  boiled  eggs  in  gaily 
painted  shells  ;  and  a  few  days  after  landed  at  Ptoleraais, 
October,  1251. 

The  most  judicious  course  for  Louis  would  have  been  to 
return  at  once  to  France.  But  he  could  not  reconcile  him- 
self to  this  prospect,  involving  the  abandonment  of  all  the 
brilliant  hopes  which  had  allured  him  to  the  East.  He  was 
deserted  by  his  brothers  and  most  of  his  barons,  who  shared 
neither  his  enthusiasm  nor  his  delusion.  His  weary  sojourn 
in  Palestine  was  occupied  in  nursing  and  burying  the  soldiers, 
who  died  daily  in  scores,  and  who  might,  and  probably 
would,  have  recovered  if  restored  to  the  salubrious  air  of 
their  native  France.  Joinville  tells  us  that  he  saw  twenty 
funereal  convoys  pass  his  windows  daily,  and  that  every  time 
he  heard  the  mournful  chant,  "  Libera  me,  Domine !  "  he  could 
not  refrain  from  tears.  In  vain  did  his  nobles  exhort  Louis 
to  desert  the  uncongenial  soil  of  Palestine.  He  lingered  on 
there  for  a  whole  year,  in  fruitless  negotiations  with  the 
Sultan  of  Aleppo  on  one  side,  and  with  the  Egyptian?  on  the 
other,  expending  enormous  sums  in  the  purchase  of 
Mohammedan  or  heathen  slaves,  v/hom  he  caused  to  be 
baptized. 

It  was  only  the  death  of  the  Queen-mother  Blanche,  and 
the  imperious  necessity  for  his  presence  in  his  kingdom  of 
France,  that  forced  him  at  last  to  leave  the  hallowed  soil. 
He  returned,  without  warlike  fame,  to  find  every  one 
impressed  with  the  profoundest  reverence  for  his  sanctity. 
"  After  his  return  to  France,  Louis  lived  a  more  austere  life 
than  before,  using  a  hard  bed  of  wood  covered  with  a  thin 
mattress,  and  attending  matins  at  midnight  and  lauds  at 
daybreak.  He  spent  long  hours  at  night  in  prayer,  lying 
prostrate  on  the  ground,  and  when  he  rose,  was  often  so 
dazed  in  his  head,  and  so  stiffened  in  his  limbs,  as  to  be 

* ^ 


Augustas.]  '^^    ^^^^-  303 

unable  to  reach  his  bed  without  assistance.  He  would  then 
call  his  chamberlains  in  a  low  voice,  so  as  not  to  disturb  the 
knights  who  slept  in  his  chamber.  He  amazed  those  who 
shared  his  room  by  the  celerity  with  which  he  got  through 
his  dressing  in  the  morning.  He  was  out  of  bed  and  in  his 
clothes  so  quickly  that  they  had  often  to  run  after  him  to 
church  without  having  had  time  to  put  on  their  shoes  and 
stockings.  But  the  secret  of  his  speed  was,  that  he  tumbled 
into  bed  with  his  clothes  on  after  matins,  so  as  to  be  ready 
at  the  tirst  stroke  of  the  bell  to  rise  for  lauds. 

As  has  been  already  said,  he  heard  mass  every  day.  He 
was  also  fond  of  hearing  sermons,  and  would  sit  on  tlic 
rushes  which  strewed  the  floor,  with  the  greatest  attention 
following  the  words  of  the  preacher.  Henry  HI.  of  Eng- 
land attended  many  masses  every  day,  but  was  not  partial 
to  sermons.  Louis,  one  day,  when  they  were  together, 
advised  him  to  listen  to  them  with  more  zest  and  patience. 
"  My  good  brother,"  said  Henry,  "  when  one  has  a  dear 
Friend,  one  prefers  infinitely  to  see  Him  to  hearing  another 
person  talk  about  him." 

S.  Louis  delighted  in  the  society  of  learned  theologians ; 
he  had  no  interest  in  any  other  sort  of  learning,  and  was 
profoundly  ignorant  of  polite  literature.  His  ear  was 
attuned  to  the  Gregorian  chant,  but  he  could  not  endure 
secular  music.  S.  Thomas  Aquinas  dined  at  his  table  one 
day,  and,  as  was  his  wont,  went  off  on  a  train  of  thought 
which  made  him  forget  where  he  was  and  with  whom  he 
dined.  Suddenly  down  came  the  fist  of  the  Angelical  Doctor 
on  the  table,  making  the  plates  rattle ;  and  he  exclaimed, 
"  That  is  an  argument  to  confound  the  Manichees  ;  it  would 
have  overthrown  Manes  himself"  Then  recovering  himself, 
he  apologized  to  the  King,  who  instantly  called  for  paper  and 
ink  that  the  convincing  argument  might  be  written  down 
before  it  was  forgotten. 

* 


^ ^ 

304  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  .5. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  allude  to  the  unswerv- 
ing fidelity  of  S.  Louis  towards  his  Queen,  whom  he  always 
treated  with  the  greatest  deference,  and  the  most  thoughtful 
attention.  On  his  wedding  ring  he  had  inscribed  "  Dieu, 
France  et  Marguerite,"  and  he  was  wont  to  say,  pointing  to 
it,  "  Hors  de  cet  anel  n'ai  point  d'amour."  A  part  of  his 
evenings  was  spent  with  his  children,  who  appeared  before 
him  with  roses  in  their  hair,  except  in  Lent.  He  marched 
them  every  day  to  mass,  taught  them  the  services  of  the 
Church,  and  gave  them  sound  advice.  Joinville  gives  us  an 
anecdote  or  two  of  his  dealings  with  his  children. 

"  The  good  King,  being  once  dangerously  ill  at  Fontaine- 
bleau,  said  to  my  Lord  Louis,  his  eldest  son,  '  Fair  son,  1 
beseech  thee  to  make  thyself  beloved  by  the  people  of  thy 
kingdom  ;  for,  in  truth,  I  should  prefer  to  see  a  raw  Scotch- 
man from  Scotland,  or  from  any  other  distant  and  unknown 
country,  govern  the  subjects  of  my  realm  well  and  loyally 
than  that  thou  shouldst  rule  them  wickedly  and  reproachfully.' 
The  good  King  called  to  him  one  day  my  Lord  Philip,  his 
son,  and  Thibault  his  son-in-law,  and  seating  himself  at  the 
door  of  his  oratory,  he  put  his  hand  on  the  ground,  and  said 
to  his  sons,  '  Seat  yourselves  here  near  me,  that  you  may  be 
out  of  sight'  'Ah,  Sire,'  replied  tney,  'excuse  us  if  you 
please,  for  it  would  not  become  us  to  sit  so  close  to  you.' 
The  King  then  addressing  me,  said,  '  Seneschal,  sit  down 
here,'  which  I  did,  and  so  near  him  that  my  robe  touched 
his.  Having  made  them  sit  down  by  my  side,  he  said, 
'  You  have  behaved  very  ill,  being  my  children,  in  not  in- 
■  stantly  obeying  what  I  ordered  of  you.  Take  care  that  this 
never  occurs  again.'  They  answered  that  they  would  be 
cautious  that  it  should  not." 

S.  Louis  had  clear  perception  of  the  dangers  to  the 
crown  and  unity  of  France  which  arose  from  the  power  of 
the  great  nobles.     He  brought  the  haughty  feudal  nobles, 

* 


*- 


-* 


August  35.1 


S.  Louis. 


505 


and  even  the  Churchmen,  under  the  impartial  sovereignty  of 
the  law  of  the  land.  The  barons  resisted,  but  were  brought 
to  submission,  and  Louis  IX,  prepared  the  way  for  the  final 
breaking  of  their  power  by  the  crafty  polity  of  Louis  XL 
The  clergy,  living  under  their  own  law,  escaped  punishment 
for  the  gravest  crimes.  Even  Alexander  IV.  could  not  close 
his  eyes  to  the  monstrous  fact  of  the  crimes  of  the  clergy, 
secured  from  adequate  punishment  by  the  immunities  of 
their  sacred  persons.  The  Pope  made  a  concession :  the 
king's  judge  was  not  excommunicated  for  arresting,  subject 
to  the  judgment  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  priests  notori- 
ously guilty  of  capital  offences.  Alexander  threw  off  from 
the  Church,  and  abandoned  as  scapegoats  to  the  secular 
courts,  all  married  clergy  and  those  exercising  low  trades ; 
with  them  the  law  might  take  its  course,  they  had  forfeited 
the  privilege  of  clergy.  But  Louis  would  not  be  the  slave 
of  narrow  intolerance.  The  whole  prelacy  of  France,  writes 
the  Sieur  de  Joinville,  met  to  rebuke  the  King  for  not 
enforcing  with  his  sword  their  sentences  of  excommunica- 
tion. "  Sire,"  said  the  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  "  Christianity 
is  falling  into  ruin  in  your  hands."  "How  so?"  said 
the  King,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross.  "  Sire,  men  regard 
not  excommunication  which  is  not  backed  up  with  force. 
The  bishops  admonish  you  to  order  all  the  royal  officers  to 
confiscate  the  lands  and  chattels  of  all  such  as  are  excom- 
municated, and  thus  compel  them  to  seek  absolution." 
The  King  shook  his  head.  "  I  will  willingly  do  so  to  all 
such  as  shall  be  proved  to  me  to  have  wronged  Holy 
Church."  "  It  belongs  not  to  you  to  judge  such  cases, 
whether  just  or  unjust,"  said  the  bishop,  haughtily.  Then 
Louis  answered,  "  I  will  not  act  otherwise.  It  were  a  sin 
against  God  and  against  reason  to  force  those  to  seek  ab- 
solution to  whom  the  clergy  have  done  wrong." 

The  Pragmatic  Sanction  was  promulgated  about  a.u  1268. 

VOL.  IX.  30 


*■ 

3o6  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 

The  objects  of  this  fartious  charter  were  the  estabUshment  of 
the  rights  of  patrons  to  appoint  to  vacant  benefices,  to  con- 
firm to  the  cathedral  churches  the  freedom  of  election  of 
their  bishops,  to  cut  off  the  sin  of  simony,  to  limit  the  fees 
for  promotions,  collations,  and  the  like ;  to  forbid  the  collec- 
tion in  France  of  "  any  manner  of  exactions  or  assessments 
of  money,  which  have  been  imposed  by  the  Court  of  Rome, 
by  which  our  realm  has  been  miserably  impoverished,  or 
which  hereafter  shall  be  imposed,"  unless  the  cause  be 
reasonable  and  approved  by  the  King. 

S.  Louis  had  always  cherished  the  mad  idea  of  returning 
to  the  East  to  prosecute  the  war  of  the  Cross  against  the 
Crescent ;  and  after  his  return  from  the  disastrous  Crusade 
in  Egypt,  his  attendants  saw  with  regret  that  he  still  kept 
the  cross  on  his  mantle.  The  enthusiasm  smouldered  in  the 
King's  breast  for  ten  years ;  it  was  fanned  into  a  flame  by 
the  disastrous  accounts  which  every  returning  pilgrim  brought 
with  him  from  the  East.  But  for  so  important  an  under- 
taking as  a  Crusade  money  was  wanting,  and  the  King  began 
to  retrench  all  the  unnecessary  expenses  of  his  household,  to 
the  astonishment  of  those  who  were  accustomed  to  his  mag- 
nificent Uberality.  In  1265,  when  Clement  IV.  ascended  to 
the  throne  of  S.  Peter,  S.  Louis  sent  to  him  for  his  opinion 
on  the  advisability  of  undertaking  another  Crusade.  Cle- 
ment followed  the  impulse  of  his  heart  rather  than  the 
dictates  of  reason,  and  in  a  letter  dated  October  14th,  1265, 
wrote,  "  Act  a  manly  part,  O  dearest  of  sons  !  son  of  bless- 
ing and  favour  !  and  laudably  bring  forth  your  laudable 
conception  ;  put  your  hand  with  vigour  to  the  work."  S. 
Louis  being  thus  encouraged  to  prosecute  his  chivalrous  and 
foolhardy  enterprise,  summoned  all  the  prelates,  barons,  and 
nobles  of  his  kingdom  to  meet  at  Paris  in  the  Lent  of  1267, 
and  by  Thursday,  March  1 2th,  a  great  number  were  assem- 
bled, but  few  knew  the  object  for  which  they  were  summoned. 

i^ -ij, 


* — ^ 

August  2s.]  ^-  Louis.  307 


On  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation  S.  Louis  brought  the 
crown  of  thorns,  which  he  had  procured  from  Constantinople 
at  an  enormous  cost,  from  the  Sainte  Chapelle  which  he  had 
erected  to  enshrine  it,  and  sho\ving  it  to  the  assembled 
barons,  exhorted  them  with  earnestness  to  assume  the  cross. 

When  he  ceased  to  speak,  a  sad  but  profound  silence  ex- 
pressed at  once  the  surprise  and  grief  of  his  barons  and  pre- 
lates with  the  respect  they  bore  for  the  holy  monarch. 
Louis  received  the  cross  from  the  hands  of  the  Cardinal  of 
S.  Cecilia,  the  Papal  legate,  and  his  example  was  followed 
by  three  of  his  sons.  Among  the  princes  the  assembly  was 
affected  to  behold  Jean  Tristan,  Count  of  Nevers,  who  was 
born  at  Damietta  amidst  the  calamities  of  the  preceding 
Crusade. 

The  determination  of  S.  Louis  spread  deep  regret 
throughout  the  kingdom ;  his  people  could  not  behold 
without  sorrow  the  departure  of  a  prince  whose  presence 
alone  preserved  peace,  and  maintained  order  and  justice 
everywhere.  The  health  of  the  King  was  so  feeble  that  he 
could  not  endure  the  weight  of  armour,  or  sit  for  many 
hours  on  horseback.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  general 
regret,  there  were  no  complaints  raised  against  the  King; 
the  spirit  of  resignation  to  inevitable  evil  weighed  on  the 
people.  Joinville  expresses  the  general  opinion  when  he 
says,  "  They  who  advised  the  King  to  undertake  this  voyage 
sinned  mortally." 

"What  shall  we  do?"  said  one  knight  to  another,  within 
Joinville's  hearing,  at  the  mass  in  the  chapel.  "  If  we  take 
the  cross  with  the  King  we  shall  ruin  him  and  injure  our- 
selves, for  if  he  leaves,  it  will  be  the  most  fatal  day  ever 
seen  in  France ;  and  if  we  take  the  cross  it  is  from  no  other 
reason  than  to  please  the  King,  and  so  we  shall  forfeit  God's 
grace." 

The  clergy  loudly  protested  against  the  Crusade,  because 

20 — 2 


*- 


3o8 


Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  as. 


they  saw  that  when  the  King  was  gone,  anarchy  would 
ensue,  but  chiefly  because  the  Crusade  was  to  be  paid  for 
by  a  levy  of  a  tenth  on  tlieir  revenues  for  three  years, 
accorded  by  the  Pope. 

The  period  fixed  upon  for  the  departure  of  the  expedition 
was  May,  1270  ]  the  intervening  years  were  spent  in  active 
preparation.  Money  was  grudgingly  furnished ;  Crusaders 
were  reluctantly  enrolled.  The  fleet  sailed  on  July  4th, 
1270,  and  in  a  few  days  arrived  in  the  roads  of  Cagliari. 
As  yet  no  plan  of  operations  had  been  formed  :  nobody 
knew,  for  it  had  not  been  decided  whether  the  Crusaders 
should  fall  on  Egypt  or  the  Holy  Land,  It  was  now  arranged 
to  sail  for  the  Nile,  and  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  the 
Seventh  Crusade  by  the  achievements  of  the  Eighth.  The 
fleet  accordingly  made  for  the  African  coast,  and  the  army 
disembarked  on  July  17th  on  the  site  of  ancient  Carthage. 
A  month  was  spent  before  Tunis ;  the  Crusaders  suffered 
from  the  attacks  of  the  Saracens,  from  a  pestilence,  and 
from  deficiency  of  food.  Nothing  was  done  ;  the  anny 
waited  for  the  arrival  of  the  King  of  Sicily,  who  had  no  very 
real  desire  of  risking  his  troops  and  fortune  on  the  sands  of 
Africa.  Tristan,  Count  of  Nevers,  his  father's  favourite  son, 
now  died  :  the  sickly  boy  exposed  to  the  hardships  of  a 
camp  and  the  infection  of  disease  succumbed  at  once. 
Prince  PhiHp  also  felt  the  effects  of  the  contagion,  Louis 
fell  ill  with  dysentery,  and  it  was  clear  to  himself  and  all 
around  him  that  he  would  not  recover.  Philip,  who  was 
his  successor  to  the  throne,  was  in  the  tent  with  him.  Louis 
called  him  to  his  bedside  and  gave  him  his  d3'ing  exhorta- 
tion. "  I  bestow  upon  thee,"  said  he,  in  conclusion,  "  all 
the  benedictions  that  a  father  can  bestow  on  a  dear  son. 
Aid  me  by  mass  and  prayer,  and  let  me  have  a  part  in  all 
the  good  actions  thou  shalt  perform.  I  beseech  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  of  His  great  mercy,  to  guard  thee  from  all  evils. 


*- 


* 


ENAMELLED   SHRINE  OF   S.   LOULS. 


I  If  I'l  J  I     -w     fi'\       n 


TOMB  OF   LOUIS,  eldest  son  of  S.  Loub,  died  1260. 


Aug.,  p.  303.] 


[Aug.  25, 


* 


August  25.] 


S.  Louis.  309 


and  to  keep  thee  from  doing  anything  contrary  to  His  will ; 
and  that,  this  mortal  life  ended,  we  may  see  Him,  love  Him, 
and  praise  Him  together,  throughout  eternity," 

Louis  then  turned  to  his  daughter,  the  Queen  of  Navarre, 
and  bade  her  a  touching  farewell.  He  parted  from  his 
children,  and  they  saw  him  no  more. 

He  then  received  the  ambassadors  of  the  Emperor  of 
Constantinople.  He  assured  them  that  if  he  did  recover  he 
would  do  everything  that  lay  in  his  power  to  fulfil  the 
wishes  of  the  Emperor  which  they  expressed,  and  if,  as  it 
seemed  most  likely,  he  were  about  to  die,  his  last  prayer 
would  be  for  the  peace  and  reconciliation  of  the  Church. 

S.  Louis  received  the  last  sacraments  on  Sunday,  August 
24th.  When  his  chaplain  entered,  bearing  the  Viaticum,  he 
found  that  the  King  had  risen  from  his  bed,  and  was  kneel- 
ing to  receive  the  heavenly  gift 

"Sire,"  said  his  confessor  to  the  King,  "dost  thou 
believe  this  to  be  verily  and  indeed  the  true  body  of  our 
Lord?" 

"  Yea,  my  father,"  replied  S.  Louis,  with  all  the  earnest- 
ness his  fast  ebbing  strength  would  permit.  "  I  could  not 
more  firmly  believe  it  to  be  Jesus  Christ  if  I  were  to  see 
Him  ascending  to  heaven  in  visible  shape." 

From  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Sunday  until  nine 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  the  King  was  heard  to  praise  God 
incessantly,  and  pray  for  his  people  and  army.  About  night- 
fall he  murmured,  "  We  will  go  to  Jerusalem  !"  It  was  to 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem  he  was  about  to  journey.  He  had  a 
little  sleep  on  Sunday  night  On  Monday  morning  he  was 
heard  to  murmur,  "  I  will  come  into  thy  house,  even  upon 
the  multitude  of  thy  mercy ;  and  in  thy  fear  will  I  worship 
towards  thy  holy  temple  !"  Then,  for  the  last  time,  to 
sigh,  "  Lord,  into  tliy  hands  I  commend  my  si^irit."  And 
he  was  dead. 


-* 


3IO  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustus- 


No  sooner  was  the  King  dead  than  his  brother  Charles  of 
Anjou,  King  of  Sicily,  arrived.  The  half-hearted  Crusaders 
were  glad  to  arrange  a  truce  with  the  Sultan  of  Tunis  and 
to  return  to  France,  bearing  with  them  the  body  of  their 
beloved  King. 

Thus  ended  ignominiously  the  last  of  the  Crusades,  ex- 
cept the  desperate  and  ineffectual  struggle  which  was  now 
about  to  take  place  under  Prince  Edward  of  England  for 
the  narrow  remnant  of  the  Holy  Land. 

The  relics  of  S.  Louis  were  scattered  at  the  French  Revo- 
lution ;  all  that  remain  of  him  are  a  jawbone  and  one  of  his 
shirts  in  Notre  Dame  at  Paris. 


^ _ ■ »f* 


-n* 


August  .&]  S.  Zephyrinus.  311 


August  26. 

SS.  Justus,  Orontius,  and  Fortunatus,  MM.  at  Otranto 

\st  cent. 
S.  Zephyrinus,  Pope  at  Rome ;  a.d.  219. 
SS.  Abundius  and  Iren^cs,  MM.  at  Rome  :  a.d.  258. 
S.  Secundus,  M.  at  Ventimislia  in  Northern  Italy;  A.D.  286. 
S.  Alexander,  M.  at  Bergamo  ;  circ.  a.d.  287. 
S.  Adrian,  M.  at  Nicomedia;  circ.  a.d.  310. 
S.  Bregwin,  Ahp.  cf  Canterbury  ;  a.d.  765. 
S.  Rosa,  V.  at  Lima,  in  Peru  ;  a.d.  1617. 

S.  ZEPHYRINUS,  POPE. 
(a.d.  219.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  Martyrologium  parvum,  Usuardus,  Ado,  the 
Martyrology  of  Bede  on  December  20,  on  the  same  day  that  of 
S.  Jerome,  Hrabanus,  and  Wandelbert.  Authorities  : — The  ancient 
catalogue  of  Roman  Pontififs,  Eusebius,  and  the  lately  discovered  "  Refuta- 
tions of  Heresies,"  attributed  to  S.  Hippolytus.] 

F  Zephyrinus,  who  became  Pope  in  a.d.  202,  we 
have  adverse  accounts — that  of  Eusebius,  and 
that  contained  in  the  "  Refutations  of  all 
Heresies,"  attributed  to  S.  Hippolytus,  of 
Porto,  and  if  not  by  him,  by  a  bishop  of  the  same  period 
of  one  of  the  suburban  dioceses. 

The  asceticism,  the  stem  puritanism  of  the  Montanists, 
attracted  the  admiration  of  Pope  Victor,*  He  acknowledged 
the  inspiration  of  their  prophets,  and  issued  letters  of  peace 
in  their  favour.  But  at  the  instigation  of  Praxeas,  a  violent 
opponent  of  Montanism,  lately  come  from  Asia  Minor,  who 
represented  to  him  that  his  conduct  was  the  reverse  of  that 
of  Anicetus  and  Soter  his  predecessors,  and  who  gave  him 

>  Tertullian,  our  authority,  does  not  name  the  Pope.  Neander  thinks  it  was 
Eleutherius,  but  the  opinion  generally  admitted  and  least  encumbered  with  difficulties 
is  that  the  Pope  alluded  to  was  Victor. 


*- 


*— * 

3 1 2  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  26. 

an  unfavourable  report  of  the  Montanist  community  in  Asia 
Minor,  Victor  revoked  his  letters,  denied  their  spiritual 
gifts,  and  drove  the  prophets  in  disgrace  from  Rome. 

Praxeas  gradually  acquired  a  predominant  influence  over 
the  mind  of  the  Pope,  and,  if  we  may  trust  Tertullian, 
infused  into  his  mind  his  peculiar  Patripassian  opinions. 
But  an  accusation  made  by  Tertullian  under  the  excitement 
of  disappointment  at  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  obtain 
papal  sanction  ef  his  cherished  doctrine,  is  not  likely  to  be 
true. 

Monarchianism,  or,  as  it  was  offensively  branded,  Patri- 
passianism,  became  the  controversy  which  raged  during  the 
episcopate  of  Victor,  Zephyrinus,  and  Callixtus.  Theodotus, 
a  leather  dresser  of  Byzantium,  was  the  nominal  founder 
of  Monarchianism,  actually  it  was  long  latent  Ebionism 
taking  emphatic  expression  in  the  assertion  of  Monotheism 
against  Trinitarianism.  The  Monarchians  could  not  admit 
the  triple  personality ;  the  designation  of  Father,  and  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  belonged  to  aspects  of  the  one  Divinity. 
God  revealed  Himself  to  the  Jews  as  the  Father,  in 
humanity  as  the  Son  to  the  world,  breathed  in  the  Church 
as  the  Holy  Spirit.  There  were  many  shades  of  Monarchian- 
ism, as  men  endeavoured  to  reconcile  the  idea  of  the 
Trinity  with  that  of  the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  without 
admitting  the  individual  personality  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost. 

Zephyrinus,  whom  the  author  of  the  "  Refutation  of  all 
Heresies"  represents  as  an  unlearned  man,  ignorant  of  the 
language  and  definitions  of  the  Church,  through  his  long 
pontificate  wavered  to  and  fro,  in  dreamy  uncertainty  about 
the  points  of  contest.  Hippolytus — if  he  were  the  author 
of  the  "  Refutation " — says  he  was  avaricious,  venal,  or 
unsettled  principles :  not  holding  the  balance  between 
conflicting   opinions,   but   embracing   adverse   tenets  with 

.j. 


August  26.]  ■^-  Zephyrinus,  3 1 3 

all  the  zeal  of  which  a  rude,  untaught,  and  withal  an 
irresolute  mind  was  capable.  He  was  now  a  disciple  of 
Cleomenes,  the  successor  of  Noetus,  and  teacher  of  Noetian- 
ism  in  Rome,  holding  extreme  Patripassian  views  ;  now  of 
Sabellius,  who,  become  bold,  had  matured  his  scheme, 
which  was  odious  to  both  contending  parties  alike. 
Zephyrinus  was  entirely  governed  by  the  runaway  slave 
and  escaped  convict,  CaUixtus  ;  and  thus  constantly  driven 
back,  by  his  fears  or  confusion  of  mind,  to  opposite  tenets, 
and  involved  in  the  most  glaring  contradictions.  At  one 
time  he  publicly  used  the  startling  words,  "  I  acknowledge 
one  God,  Jesus  Christ,  and  none  beside  Him,  that  was  born 
and  suffered  ;"  and  at  another  he  refuted  himself,  "  It  was 
not  the  Father  that  died,  but  the  Son." 

We  shall  probably  arrive  at  the  truth  in  estimating  the 
character  and  capacities  of  Zephyrinus,  if  we  admit  with  the 
author  of  the  "  Refutation  "  that  he  was  an  ill-educated  man, 
of  no  fixed  opinions,  no  theological  or  philosophical  train- 
ing, nor  natural  capability  of  grasping  abstruse  questions  in 
theology.  With  all  this  he  had  the  wish  to  believe  what 
was  orthodox,  and  his  mind  was  swayed  by  various  advisers 
in  different  and  adverse  directions.  The  author  of  the 
"  Refutation  of  all  Heresies"  headed  the  orthodox  party  in 
Rome,  and  in  his  irritation  and  disappointment  at  the 
vacillation  of  the  Pope,  used  stronger  language  in  particu- 
larizing his  character  than  he  was  justified  in  doing.  That 
Zephyrinus  was  avaricious  and  venal,  are  probably  unjust 
charges. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Zephyrinus  was  a  martyr. 


^ ,j, 


314  L  ives  of  the  Saints.  (August  26. 

SS.  ABUNDIUS  AND  IRENiEUS,  MM. 
(a.d.  258.) 

[The  ancient  Roman  Martyrology,  Ado,  Usuardus,  Wandelbert,  Bede, 
and  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Authority  : — The  Acts,  which  have  the 
appearance  of  being  perfectly  trustworthy.  These  have  been  inserted,  along 
with  several  others,  to  amplify  the  Acts  of  S.  Laurence  in  their  late  form.] 

After  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Concordia  (Aug.  13),  there 
came  a  soldier  named  Porphyry  to  the  keeper  of  the  sewer, 
and  asked  him  if  he  were  disposed  to  keep  a  secret,  and 
share  in  the  profits.  The  keeper  of  the  sewer,  who  was 
called  Irenseus,  and  was  a  Christian,  asked  what  the  secret 
was.  Porphyry  then  told  him  that  after  the  execution  of 
the  Christian,  Concordia,  her  body  had  been  cast  into  the 
great  sewer  through  a  certain  opening,  and  that  he  expected, 
as  she  was  a  woman  of  some  fortune,  that  there  would  be 
jewels  on  her  dress.  He  wished  therefore  by  night  to 
examine  the  corpse.  Irenseus  agreed,  and  the  two  sought 
the  body  in  the  sewer,  found  it,  but  could  not  discover  any 
jewels  on  it.     So  Porphyry  went  grumbling  away. 

Now  Irenseus  went  to  the  priest  Justin,  and  told  him 
what  he  had  heard,  and  a  devout  Christian  named  Abundias 
offered  to  go  with  Ireneeus  to  remove  the  sacred  body  and 
bury  it.  The  two  men  did  so,  but  were  observed  and 
reported  to  the  prefect  of  Rome,  who  ordered  both  to  be 
plunged  in  the  filth  of  the  sewer  and  suffocated  in  it.  They 
suffered  on  August  26th.  Afterwards  Justin  succeeded  in 
recovering  their  bodies,  and  he  buried  them  near  that  of 
S.  Laurence  in  the  catacomb  of  Veranus. 


*- 


-* 


*- 


August  s6.] 


6'.  Alexander.  315 


S.  ALEXANDER,  M. 
(about  a.d.  287.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Venerated  with  octave  as  a  double  at  Bergamo. 
Ado,  Usuardus,  &c.     Authority : — The  Acts,  late  and  untrustworthy.] 

S.  Alexander  and  S.  Secundus,  both  of  whom  are 
venerated  on  this  day,  are  said  to  have  been  soldiers  in  the 
Theban  legion  under  S.  Maurice.  Alexander  was  standard- 
bearer,  according  to  one  version  of  the  Acts,  according  to 
another,  head-centurion.  Secundus  was  commander  or 
general,  and  was  executed  before  S.  Maurice.  No  great 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  acts  of  either  of  these  martyrs. 
The  body  of  S.  Alexander  was  probably  brought  from 
Agaunum,  the  modern  S,  Maurice  in  the  Valais,  but  the 
Bergamese  prefer  to  believe  that  he  suffered  martyrdom 
near  their  city  at  a  place  called  Plotacco.  Alexander,  being 
known  to  be  a  Christian,  was  brought  before  Maximian  at 
Rome.  A  long  and  tedious  discussion  between  them  is 
given  by  the  late  author  of  the  Acts,  out  of  his  own  head. 
A  soldier  was  ordered  to  hew  off  the  head  of  the  saint,  but 
became  motionless  ;  Alexander  was  then  led  back  to  prison. 
He  escaped  by  night  and  took  refuge  at  Bergamo,  but  was 
discovered  and  dragged  before  an  idol  of  Plotatius,*  and 
executed  with  the  sword,  A  pious  Christian  matron  named 
Grata  took  up  his  body  and  buried  it  in  her  farm.* 

A  large  picture  in  the  National  Gallery  by  Romanino 
represents  this  young  soldier, 

»  The  idol  Plotatius  was  a  statue  or  pillar  erected  by  Crotacius,  a  favourite  general 
of  the  Emperor  Probus,  in  or  about  a.d.  370,  on  his  native  farm.  Plotatius  is  a 
corruption  of  Crotacius. 

*  See  S.  GnOa^  September  4. 


*- 


^ 1^ 

316  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [August  ,6. 

S.  BREGWIN,  ABP.  OF  CANTERBURY. 

(a.d.  765.) 

[Wilson  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology,  Mayhew,  and  Merardus.  Autho- 
rities : — A  life  by  Eadmer,  d.  1124,  and  mention  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle.] 

Bregwin,  an  Anglo-Saxon,  was  a  disciple  of  S.  Theodore 
at  Canterbury.  He  entered  the  monastery  founded  by  S. 
Augustine  there  at  an  early  age.  Cuthbert,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  died  in  a.d.  758,  and  King  Ethelbert,  son  of 
Wigthred,  being  then  King  of  Kent,  proposed  Bregwin  to 
the  people'  as  bishop  in  the  room  of  the  deceased  Cuthbert. 
He  was  unanimously  elected,  by  clergy  and  people,  and 
was  consecrated  on  the  29th  September,  and  died,  after  a 
good  life  and  upright  government  of  his  see,  in  a.d.  762. 
Eadmer  has  spun  these  scanty  facts  into  a  lengthy  life. 


S.  ROSE  OF  LIMA,  V. 

(a.d.   1617.) 

[Roman  Martyrology,  but  August  30th  is  the  day  on  which  she  is  generally 
commemorated.  Slie  was  canonized  by  Clement  X.  in  1671,  and 
August  30th  appointed  for  her  festival.  Her  name  occurs  on  both 
August  26th  and  30th  in  the  Martyrology.  Authorities  : — Her  life  written 
by  Leonard  Hansen,  O.  P.,  in  1664.  A  life  in  Spanish  by  John  de  Vargas, 
in  1657  ;  another  in  Italian  by  Dominic  Maria  Marchesi,  in  1665  ;  a  Latin 
life,  "Vita  admirabilis,  virtus,  gloria  S.  Rosa,"  &c.  Aug.  Vindel.  1679; 
J.  B.  Feuillot,  "Vie  de  la  brenh.  Spouse  de  Jesus  Christ,  S.  Rose  de 
S.'  Marie,"  Paris,  1669.  J.  A.  Faure,  "Vie  de  la  brenh.  M.  Rose  de 
S.  Marie,"  Bordeaiu,  1668,  &c.] 

The   life   of  Rose  of  Lima,  of  the  Third  Order  of  S. 
Dominic,  is  suggestive  and  instructive. 

Rose  was  born  on  April  20th,  1586,  of  Caspar  de  Florez 

1  "  Refertur  in  populum  ;  consentiunt  oinnes  in  unum  .  .  .  totius  cleri  confluentis 
voce." 


*- 


-t^ 


*- 


August  26.] 


S.  Rose  of  Lima.  317 


and  Maria  del  Oliva,  at  Lima  in  Peru.  Her  parents  were 
natives  of  Puerto  Rico,  in  moderate  circumstances  and 
pious.  At  her  baptism  the  Uttle  girl  was  called  Isabella, 
after  her  grandmother  Isabella  de  Herrera ;  but  on  account 
of  her  ruddy  complexion  was  called  Rose,  to  the  no  slight 
displeasure  of  her  grandmother,  who  grumbled  incessantly 
at  the  child  not  being  commonly  designated  Isabella.  When 
the  little  girl  was  confirmed,  the  bishop,  S,  Turribius, 
administered  the  sacrament  to  her  under  the  name  of  Rose 
omitting  the  baptismal  name.  When  she  grew  older  some 
scruples  entered  her  mind  that  she  had  no  right  to  this 
name,  which  was  given  her  because  of  her  appearance.  She 
went,  it  is  said,  into  a  chapel  of  the  B.  Virgin,  and  besought 
the  Holy  Mother  to  relieve  her  of  her  difficulties  in  this 
matter.  A  voice,  speaking  within  her,  replied  that  the 
name  was  grateful  to  Christ,  but  that  she  had  better  add  to 
it  the  name  of  Mary ;  thenceforth  she  called  herself  Rosa 
Santa  Maria. 

When  she  was  three  years  old  a  heavy  chest-lid  fell  on 
her  thumb  and  crushed  it  She  suftered  the  barbarous 
treatment  of  an  ignorant  surgeon  with  the  greatest  courage, 
and  without  crying. 

One  day  when  playing  with  her  brother,  who  was  some- 
what older  than  herself,  he,  with  boyish  frolic,  plastered  her 
long  rich  brown  hair  with  mud.  Rose  was  very  proud  of  her 
auburn  hair,  and  withdrew,  and  sulked,  and  would  not  play 
with  him  any  longer,  "  Why,  what  a  fuss  you  make  about 
your  red  hair  !"  exclaimed  the  tormentor.  "  You  little  know 
what  a  frizzling  girls'  hairs  get  in  Hell  fire,  if  they  are  vain 
of  them."  Then,  imitating  a  preacher  in  action  and  words, 
the  boy  began  a  sermon  against  women's  vanity,  and  the 
witchery  they  exercise  with  their  beautiful  long  hair.  Rose 
listened  with  eyes  and  ears,  and  took  it  all  in  as  seriously 
meant — she  was  only  five  years  old — and,  getting  a  razor, 
shaved  her  head. 
kL — ►{< 


*- 


-* 


3 1 8  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  26. 


The  poor  mother,  who  was  exceedingly  proud  of  her  child's 
beauty,  her  hair,  and  her  complexion,  was  in  dismay. 
Fortunately  at  that  early  age  hair  grows  very  fast,  and  poor 
little  Rose's  scrubby  pate  soon  assumed  a  presentable 
appearance. 

Somehow  or  other  Rose's  first  religious  ideas  were  taken 
from  the  life  of  S.  Catharine  of  Siena,  and  from  early  infancy 
it  became  her  passion  to  imitate  that  self-tormenting 
enthusiastic  visionary.  Her  mother  used  to  make  the  pretty 
little  girl  wear  roses  in  her  hair,  woven  into  a  wreath,  when 
company  were  in  her  house.  Rose  took  care  to  weave  her 
garland  with  thorns  on  the  twigs  so  as  to  scratch  her  skin. 
•'  It  is  a  great  thing  for  the  girl  to  have  a  nice  white  hand," 
thought  the  mother  ;  "  it  gets  as  brown  as  a  berry  under  the 
blazing  sun  of  Peru."  So  she  bought  her  gloves,  soft  and 
scented,  to  wear  on  her  hands  when  she  went  to  bed.^ 
There  were  struggles  over  these  gloves.  Rose  would  not 
draw  them  on,  the  mother  insisted ;  then  came  tears  and 
groans,  and  Maria  del  Oliva  only  succeeded  in  carrying  her 
point  by  the  exercise  of  her  "ferocious  authority."  But 
Rose  was  not  beaten  yet.  She  was  put  to  bed  with  her 
gloves  on,  but  she  had  inserted  in  them  some  stinging  herbs 
so  that  in  the  morning  her  hands  were  covered  with  blotches 
and  inflamed.  The  mother  looked  at  the  hands  and 
abandoned  further  attempt  to  coerce  in  this  matter  such  an 
obstinate  and  impracticable  child. 

Next  came  an  altercation  about  dress.  The  mother 
wished  to  adorn  her  daughter  in  the  prevailing  fashion  as 
she  was  now  sixteen,  and  old  enough  to  be  in  society.  She 
must  have  her  hair  done  up  with  pads,  her  gowns  must  be  of 
silk,  and  just  a  little  touch  of  colour  must  be  added  to  her 
lips.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  In  vain  did  Rose  protest. 
She  had  recourse  at  last  to  her  confessor,  and  set  him  to 
frighten  her  mother  into  letting  her  have  her  own  way. 

'  "  After  the  manner  of  women,"  says  Hsuisen. 


-* 


August  a€.] 


S.  Rose  of  Lima.  3 1 9 


The  parents  moved  to  a  mine  at  Guanca,  where,  as  the 
elevation  was  great,  they  suffered  from  cold,  and  Rose 
caught  a  chill  and  inflammation.  Her  mother  made  her  a 
plaster  of  cantharides  and  told  her  to  put  it  on.  Three 
days  after  she  asked  Rose  about  the  blister,  whether  it  had 
not  done  her  good,  and  where  she  had  thrown  it.  "  I  have 
not  taken  it  off,"  answered  the  girl  composedly.  "  Why 
not  ?"  asked  her  mother,  in  dismay.  "  You  did  not  tell  me 
I  was  to,"  answered  Rose.  The  condition  of  her  flesh  after 
three  days  of  blister  may  be  imagined. 

Once  she  was  embroidering  flowers  in  silk ;  some  were 
badly  done.  Her  mother  looked  over  her  shoulder,  and 
said,  "  What  monsters  of  flowers  those  are  ! — take  them  out," 
meaning  only  the  last  she  had  embroidered,  whilst  her  mind 
was  wool-gathering.  Rose  unpicked  every  stitch  in  her  work 
and  reduced  it  to  a  blank.  Her  mother  was  angry.  "  How 
could  you  have  been  such  a  fool?"  "  You  did  not  particu- 
larize which  flowers  were  to  be  unpicked." 

At  the  age  of  twenty  she  joined  the  Third  Order  of  S, 
Dominic,  in  spite  of  her  mother's  opposition,  who  wished  to 
see  her  married.  An  old  lady,  whose  son  had  cast  his  eyes 
on  Rose  for  his  wife,  assaulted  her  with  words — and  ended 
by  slapping  her  face,  when  she  refused  to  accept  her  son. 

It  had  long  been  Rose's  intention  to  join  the  Order.  She 
was  confirmed  in  it  by  seeing  a  black  and  white  butterfly 
hover  round  her  one  day;  and  black  and  white  are  the 
colours  of  S.  Dominic. 

She  had  an  Indian  servant  girl  at  home,  named  Mariana. 
It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  Rose  to  lie  down  on  the  floor 
and  let  the  Indian  jump  and  dance  on  her  back.  Mariana 
objected  at  first,  but  soon  acquired  a  relish  for  the  pastime. 
Rose,  says  her  biographer,  Hansen,  was  ignorant  of  her 
good  looks  j  and  it  was  with  horror  that  she  one  day  heard 
a  woman  admire  her  taper  fingers  and  the  whiteness  of  her 
hands.     She  had  once  rubbed  them  with  lime  till  the  skin 


»J<- 


320  Lives  of  the  Saints,  f^ugust  .6. 

cockled  and  cracked,  and  for  thirty  days  was  rendered 
incapable  of  dressing  herself. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  particulars  concerning  her 
ingenious  methods  of  self-torture,  her  fastings,  chains 
wrapped  round  her  body,  and  the  like,  in  lively  imitation  of 
S.  Catharine  of  Siena.  She  had  a  crown  of  thorns  which 
she  placed  daily  on  her  head,  and  had  it  struck  so  as  to 
wound  her  temples.  This  crown  was  composed,  we  are 
told,  of  ninety-nine  thorns.  With  this  she  is  represented 
in  art. 

If  her  mother  put  a  mattress  as  her  bed,  she  flung  it  on  one 
side ;  if  she  gave  her  a  flock  pillow.  Rose  pulled  out  the  flocks 
and  stuffed  it  with  chips  of  wood.  When  visitors  called, 
and  she  was  told  to  come  down  to  receive  them,  she  rubbed 
pepper  into  her  eyes,  so  that  she  could  neither  see  them  nor 
think  of  what  they  were  saying.  She  begged  hard  to  be 
allowed  to  live  in  a  little  shed  at  the  end  of  the  garden,  and 
extorted  a  reluctant  consent  from  her  parents.  The  fancy 
then  took  her  that  this  was  to  be  her  wedding  chamber,  and 
she  fitted  up  her  shed  with  the  greatest  delight.  S.  Catharine 
of  Siena,  her  ideal,  had  been  married  mystically  to  the 
infant  Jesus  ;  why  not  she  also  ? 

The  wish  to  be  in  all  things  like  S.  Catharine  of  Siena 
was  father  to  the  thought  that  she  also  was  accepted  as  the 
chosen  bride  of  Christ.  Under  the  disappointment  one 
Palm  Sunday  of  having  been  passed  over  in  the  distribution 
of  palms,  she  took  refuge  in  the  chapel  of  the  B.  Virgin,  and 
fell  into  a  trance  before  the  image  of  S.  Mary  and  the  infant 
Saviour.     She  had  had  fore  warnings  of  what  was  to  happen.^ 

1  "  Post  assumptam  tertii  Ordinis  candidatn  vestem,  nocte  quadam  ostensa  fuit 
Rosae  pulcherrima  ac  decentissima  viri  species,  ,  .  .  hal)itus  latomum  fingebat,  seu 
marmorum  caelendorum  nobilem  artificem.  Et  tunc  festinus  et  amans  venerat, 
tanquam  virginem  illic  sponsam  sibi  quEesiturus.  Rosa,  cui  nulla  unquam  placuerat 
nuptiarum  cogitatio,  sentiebat  intus,  uno  isto  conjugio  nihil  felicius  in  tota  sibi  vita 
posse  obtingere.  Quod  vero  conjueium  sit  relinquere  patrem  et  matrem,  ut  sint  duo 
iu    carue   una,    monuit    Rosam   suam    neonymphus.  .  .  .  Jamque  post    ejusmodi 

* — 


-^L_ 


Aug. ,  p.  320.  ] 


S.   ROSE   OF    LIMA.      After  Cahier. 


[Aug.  26. 


^- 


August  26.] 


S.  Rose  of  Lima.  321 


Suddenly  the  child  said,  *'  Rosa  cordis  mei !  tu  raihi  sponsa 
esto  ! "  She  answered,  "I  am  thy  handmaid  !  I  will  be 
thine."  And  she  was  unable  to  say  more  from  agitation.^ 
She  rushed  home,  got  her  brother  to  make  her  a  wedding 
ring,  persuaded  the  priest  on  Good  Friday  to  deposit  it 
with  the  Host  in  the  Sepulchre ;  she  got  her  ring  back  on 
Easter  Sunday,  and  wore  it  ever  after.  On  it  she  had 
engraved  the  words,  "  Rosa  cordis  mei !  tu  mihi  sponsa 
esto." 

The  vision  was  the  product  of  an  unwholesome  condi- 
tion of  mind,  as  is  evident  enough  to  any  one  acquainted 
with  psychology.  It  is  not  to  be  passed  over  as  one  would 
wish,  for  it  shows  to  what  dangerous  dreams  an  ill-regulated 
devotion  and  warm  temperament  may  lead.  One  cannot 
but  be  too  thankful  that  Rose  of  Lima  was  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  which  could  correct  and  guide  such  a 
nature  as  was  hers,  treading  such  a  perilous  path;  under 
other  influences  she  might  have  been  an  Antoinette  Bour- 
ignon  or  a  Joanna  Southcote. 

Some  of  her  other  fancies  were  less  objectionable.  Coming 
in  one  morning  from  mass  to  her  little  hut,  she  exclaimed 
as  she  looked  round  the  garden,  "  O  all  ye  green  things  of 
the  earth,  bless  ye  the  Lord !"  Then  suddenly  the  trees 
began  to  shiver  and  clash  their  leaves  together,  whilst  the 
flowers  and  herbs — even  the  vegetables  in  kitchen  garden — 
lifted  up  murmuring  voices  in  praise  of  their  Creator.  The 
stately  poplars  bowed  their  heads  and  touched  the  ground 
with  them,  as  saluting  God. 

There  was  a  little  song-bird  which  had  its  nest  in  a  tree 
one  spring,  near  the  hut  of  Rose.     It  sang  so  sweetly  and 

prseambula  supererat  ultimum,  quo  demum  sponsus  manifeste  ac  palam  se  insinuaret 
vigili  Rosae,  exuto  latomi  schemate,  virginem  ad  connubialem  thalamum  apertius 
invitaret." — Hatisen. 

'  "  Certe  non  erravit,   quicumque  ille  fuit,  puerum  qui  pinxit  amorem,"  gravely 
remarks  the  biographer.     "  Jucundissimum  ipsi  erat  ;  quod  eodem  die  ac  loco,  et 
palmam  et  rosam  amiserat,  utpote  post  hoc  connubium  non  amplius  sua  1 1 
VOL.   IX.  21 


*- 


*- 


* 


322 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  a6. 


shrilly  one  day  that  she  lifted  up  her  voice,  and  composing 
Spanish  verses  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  sang  them  ;^  then 
paused.  The  bird  burst  forth  in  song  again.  Once  more 
Rose  sang,  and  the  bird  followed,  and  so  for  an  hour  together 
they  sang  alternately.     Then  the  bird  flew  away. 

The  extraordinary  fancies  of  Rose  were  not  always 
pleasant,  the  visions  often  scared  her  and  troubled  her  mind, 
so  that  she  had  recourse  to  various  confessors.  One  said 
the  source  of  all  these  was  bile,  or  the  spleen,  another  told 
her  plainly  that  she  was  out  of  her  mind,  and  that  if  she  did 
not  take  proper  nourishment  and  sufficient  sleep  she  must 
expect  to  be  a  prey  to  all  sorts  of  delusions.  As  she  could 
not  find  a  single  confessor  who  would  attribute  them  to  any 
other  cause,  she  was  much  put  out.  One  advised  medicine, 
another  blood-letting.  All  agreed  that  she  must  eat  and 
drink  and  sleep  in  reasonable  proportions.  Her  mother 
insisted  on  calling  in  the  aid  of  a  doctor.  Rose  resisted, 
but  in  vain.  The  doctor  quite  agreed  with  the  confessors, 
and  prescribed  pills,  draughts,  and  bleeding. ' 

A  committee  of  doctors  and  divines  sat  upon  her  to 
decide  if  she  were  mad  or  sane.  The  doctors  questioned 
her  as  to  her  food,  the  divines  as  to  the  books  she  read. 
She  was  questioned  as  to  the  works  on  mystical  theology 
she  had  read.  She  stared  and  asked  what  mystical  theology 
meant.  One  of  the  doctors  present,  Don  Juan  de  Castillo, 
a  very  religious  man,  was  the  only  one  who  could  make 
much  out  of  her.     He  pressed  her  very  closely  to  describe 


>  "  Laxa  fibras  philomela 
Dulce  prome  canticum ; 

Pangat  hymnum  vox  anhela, 
Collaudemus  Dominum. 

Tuum  lauda  Creatorem ; 
Meum  ego  Salvatorera ; 


Deum  utriusque  nostrum, 
Collaudabo.     Pande  rostrum, 

Pande  guttur  cantillando  : 
Alternantes  concrepando 

Melos  demus  vocibus." 


'  Latine  hsec  satis  efiferri  non  possunt ;  qux  in  Hispano  Rosae  idiomate,  propriis 

numeris  venustius  illigabantur." 

"  *'  Catapotia,  pharmaca,  phlebotomia." 


*b- 


August  26.] 


S.  Rose  0/ Lima.  323 


her  feelings ;  after  many  blushes,  and  much  hesitation,  she 
entered  into  a  tolerably  minute  description  of  them.* 

De  Castillo  decided  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done, 
the  visions  were  of  God,  and  the  rest  acquiesced  or  departed 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

She  was  now  lent  spiritual  works  to  read,  and  her  visions 
became  more  frequent,  though  scarcely  more  ravishing." 
She  was  constantly  aware  of  the  presence  of  angels ;  she 
was  able  to  converse  with  her  guardian  angel,  and  to  send 
him  messages.  One  night  she  was  fainting  for  food  in  her 
Httle  cell,  so  she  asked  her  guardian  angel  to  fetch  her  a  cup 
of  chocolate,  and  then  went  through  the  garden  to  the 
Tiouse.  Her  mother  saw  by  the  face  of  Rose  that  she  was 
faint,  and  taking  out  two  coppers  gave  them  to  the  servant, 
and  said,  "  Run  to  the  nearest  grocer's,  and  bring  me  some 
sugar  and  chocolate." 

"  You  need  not  do  so,  mother,"  said  Rose ;  "  I  have  got 
some  chocolate  coming." 

"  You  are  telling  lies,  or  gone  crazed,"  said  her  mother ; 
"  who  at  this  time  of  night  would  send  you  hot  chocolate  ? 
Go  along,  Mariana,  and  get  what  I  told  you." 

At  that  moment  there  was  a  knock  at  the  garden  door. 
The  maid  ran  to  open  ;  and  lo  !  there  was  a  man,  with  a 
silver  cup  full  of  steaming,  well-sweetened  chocolate,  out- 
side. 

It  was  thought  to  be  a  miracle  wrought  by  Rose  that  one 
day  'ihe  prayed  before  a  picture  of  Christ  till  it  broke  out 
into  »  profuse  sweat.    Don  Gundsalvo,  in  whose  oratory  this 

I  "  Velut  in  sponsi  brachiis  me  deprehendo,  .  .  .  sentis  avidos  Hberrimi  amoris 
impetui,  ut  cum  rapidi  amnes  disruptis  obicibus,  non  fluendo,  non  tuendo,  sese 
evolvunt  per  cataractam." 

'"  Jesulus  digit!  statura  vix  procerior,  saepe  apparebat  amanti  Rosae,  .  .  .  stabat 
pusilluset  nudus  Amor,  mox  inambulabat  passu  levissimo,  ac  interim  obtutu  serenulo, 
tenero,  suavi  adblandiebatur  virgini  .  .  .  nutibustaciturnisloquebaturad  cordilectje  ; 
arridebat ;  huic  protendebat  breves  ulnas  velut  amplexun.  offerens  ;  hanc  ardentibus 
oculis  jugiter  adurebat,  omnique  gestu,  motu,  flexu,  protest^batur  amorem." 

21 2 


-►^ 


324  Lives  of  the  Samts. 


[August  26. 


marvel  took  place,  examined  the  image  with  the  greatest 
care,  brushed  off  some  of  the  moisture,  smelt  it,  and  satisfied 
himself  that  this  was  a  miracle.^ 

S.  Rose  had  an  eccentric  habit  of  preparing  a  set  of 
clothes  for  the  infant  Jesus  or  the  B.  Virgin  by  means  of 
prayers. 

Before  Christmas  she  would  get  ready  a  whole  set  of 
baby  linen  in  this  way.  "  Fifty  Litanies,  nine  hundred 
Rosaries,  five  days'  fasting,  make  up  one  little  shirt  (indusio- 
lum).  Nine  stations  at  the  B.  Eucharist,  nine  Psalters,  and 
nine  days'  fasting  supply  him  with  a  wTap.  Five  days  of 
abstinence,  five  stations,  and  as  many  Rosaries  furnish  sheets 
for  the  crib.  Thirty-three  Communions,  thirty-three  at- 
tendances at  mass,  thirty-three  hours  of  mental  prayer, 
embroider  and  fringe  the  sheets.  And  for  toys  (crepundia) 
I  give  my  tears,  my  sighs,  my  heart,  and  soul." "  She  pro- 
vided an  imaginary  suit  of  clothes  in  a  similar  manner  for 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  six  hundred  angelic  salutations  and  as 
many  repetitions  of  the  Salve  Regina,  and  fifteen  days* 
fasting,  made  up  an  under-garment.  Six  hundred  angelic 
salutations  and  as  many  Salve  Reginas,  fifteen  Rosaries,  and 
fifteen  days'  fasting  provided  the  material  for  a  gown,  and  so 
on  for  the  buttons,  lace,  thread,  &c.,  for  making  it  up."  But 
she  sometimes  provided  more  substantial  garments.  There 
was  an  image  of  S.  Catharine  of  Siena,  the  care  of  which 
was  confided  to  S.  Rose.  She  one  day  poured  forth  an 
anguished  prayer  before  the  image,  which  was  shabbily 
.dressed  :  "  O  sweetest  mother  !  if  I  had  only  fifteen  or  six- 

'  "  Digito  guttas  aliquot|delibavit,  fricuit,  naribus  admovit  .  .  .  lustratis  diligenter 
omnibus,  edixit,  supernaturale  sibi  omnino  videri,  quod  in  imagine  gerebatur." 

2  "  Constat,  ex  devotae  Rosae  mystica  ofEcina,  pluries  hoc  vestimentorum  genus 
prodiisse ;  nam  subinde  amicissimis  personis  eadem  liberali  done  cedebat  offerenda, 
applicanda,  circumponenda  Jesulo  nudo,  amori  suo." 

*  "When  a  gown  was  finished,  "Jam  hoc  vestimentum  confectum  est ;  benedictus 
sit  Deus  :  ejusque  mater  sanctissima  praegrandi  sua  pietate  suppleat  defectus  meos  et 
ausuidet  veniam." 


>< 


August  a6.] 


6".  Rose  of  Lima.  325 


teen  reals  I  would  dress  you  after  my  fancy  in  a  beautiful 
new  white  cloak."  Not  long  after,  a  negro  woman  met  her 
and  gave  her  sixteen  reals  to  expend  on  the  image.  Her 
delight  was  unbounded.  She  bought  a  magnificent  white 
cloak,  and  put  it  round  the  shoulders  of  the  image,  which 
beamed  and  smiled  with  satisfaction  at  receiving  such  an 
attractive  gift. 

S.  Rose,  for  her  livelihood,  and  for  the  support  of  her 
mother,  was  a  milliner,  which  will  account  for  the  interest 
she  took  in  making  dresses  for  her  heavenly  patrons. 

There  was  a  young  man,  Vincent  Montessi  de  Venegas, 
who  admired  Rose's  good  looks,  and  to  get  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  her  closely  and  having  a  little  chat  with  her,  went 
to  his  mother  and  said,  "  I  want  a  set  of  fine  frilled  linen 
collars,  and  no  one  makes  them  better  than  Rose  de  Florez ; 
may  I  have  a  set  ?  " 

•'  By  all  means,"  answered  his  mother;  "go  to  her  house 
and  be  measured  for  them." 

So  Vincent  went  to  the  saintly  milliner's,  and  sat  down  to 
have  a  tape  put  round  his  neck,  as  measure  for  the  collars. 
There  was  a  pert  look  m  his  eyes  which  Rose  did  not  like, 
so  she  said,  "You  have  not  come  here  for  collars,  I  see 
clearly  enough.  Do  not  tell  lies,  but  mind  your  conduct." 
Vincent  sneaked  away  sheepishly,  and  never  returned 
again. 

There  was  a  religious  at  Lima  "possessed  with  a  passion  no 
less  dirty  than  foolish  and  monstrous — a  love  of  tobacco, 
as  injurious  to  the  welfare  of  his  soul  as  of  his  body,  so  that 
there  seemed  no  hope  of  salvation  for  either  one  or  the 
other.  The  mouth  of  the  man  was  all  smoky  within  like  a 
chimney,  his  snuffy  nostrils  were  choked  with  black,  a  dark 
cloud  compassed  his  brains  and  disorganized  his  chest ;  his 
clogged  lungs  emitted  hoarse  asthmatic  croakings ;  and  the 
miserable  man  never  had  the  pernicious  pipe  out  of  his 


-¥  4 


->4 


326  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  36. 

mouth.  Physicians  protested,  friends  entreated,  dissuaded, 
finally  the  heads  of  the  religious  order  fined  him  and  issued 
the  severest  inhibitions,  precepts,  and  hurled  the  thunder- 
bolts of  the  direst  censures.  But  all  was  in  vain,  The 
vicious  habit  of  thirty-three  years  would  not  yield  to  entreaty, 
threat,  or  penalty.  No  remedy  promised  to  be  of  any  avail 
to  the  perishing  wretch,  had  not  Rose  succeeded  in  shaking 
the  obduracy  of  the  smoker's  heart,  and  obtaining  the  cure  of 
it  by  ardent  prayer."* 

After  five  days  of  exhortation  from  the  saintly  milliner,  he 
cast  aside  his  pipe,  and  for  ever  renounced  tobacco. 

The  parents  of  Rose  had  a  young  cockerel,  which  Leonard 
Hansen,  the  biographer  of  the  saint,  describes  in  the  glowing 
terms  of  a  genuine  poultry  fancier.  Maria  del  Oliva,  being 
a  prudent  housekeeper,  set  great  store  by  the  cockerel, 
which  she  hoped  would  grow  up  and  be  useful  for  breeding 
purposes.  But  every  one  in  the  house  admired  this  cockerel, 
and  fed  it,  so  that  he  became  excessively  fat  and  lazy.  He 
sat  down  on  the  ground  as  if  bent  on  basking  in  the  dust 
all  day  long,  and  would  not  crow.  2  The  mother,  at  last, 
thinking  the  cock  worthless,  brought  it  into  the  room  and 
set  it  down  on  the  table  before  her  husband,  saying,  "The 
cock  must  have  its  throat  cut,  and  we  will  eat  it  to-morrow." 
But  Rose,  full  of  compassion  for  the  young  cock,  said  to  the 
bird,  "  Crow,  my  cockerel,  crow  that  you  die  not."  Scarcely 
had  she  uttered  these  words  when  the  bird  stood  up,  shook 
out  its  wings,  stiffened  its  neck,  its  comb  became  scarlet,  and 
it  crowed  lustily.  Every  one  burst  out  laughing,  and  the 
more  they  laughed  the  louder  crowed  the  cock.  Then  with 
stately  strides  chanticleer  walked  round  the  table,  and  stop- 
ping before  Rose,  thrust  its  head  towards  her  and  uttered 

'  Hansen,  c.  xxii.,  who  quotes  as  the  description  of  the  smoker  the  words  in  Job 
xli.  20,  "  Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,  as  out  of  a  seething  pot  or  caldron." 

^  "  Crevit  pulhis,  sed  ea  inerat  ventricosa  pigritia,  ut  jugiter  cubavit  humi,  et  vix 
unquam  visus  sit  ultro  in  pedes  attoUi,  nunquam  auditus  cucurire." 


•* i^ 


->•< 


August  26.] 


S.  Rose  of  Lima. 


327 


its  most  vociferous  and  grateful  crow,  as  though  thanking 
her  for  having  indicated  a  way  by  which  he  might  redeem 
his  life. 

One  day,  a  Dutch  fleet  appeared  off  the  coast  of  Peru, 
and  threatened  the  port  of  Lima.  The  inhabitants  were 
panic-struck,  expecting  the  town  to  be  sacked.  Rose 
entered  the  church,  and  stood  on  the  foot-pace  of  the  altar, 
ready  to  defend  the  tabernacle  with  her  life  against  the  in- 
sults and  profanities  of  the  heretics.  Soon  after,  news 
reached  her  that  the  fleet  had  weighed  anchor. 

Her  bed  was  a  wooden  chest  filled  with  chips  of  wood 
and  broken  crocks,  and  a  great  stone  served  as  her  pillow. 
She  allowed  herself  only  two  hours'  sleep.  Twelve  hours 
she  devoted  to  prayer  and  meditation,  the  other  ten  to 
needlework  for  her  livelihood,  and  the  support  of  the  house- 
hold. 

Want  of  sleep  and  food  exposed  her  to  the  most  dis- 
tressing fantasies.  Her  imagination  conjured  up  horrible 
spectres,  and  at  night  she  trembled  and  broke  into  a  cold 
sweat  with  fear. 

She  made  herself  a  narrow  silver  band  set  with  sharp  nail 
points,  which  she  wore  round  her  head,  to  prick  and  wound 
her  incessantly,  so  that  her  temples  were  raw  and  bleeding. 
She  also  scourged  herself  till  her  body  was  a  mass  of 
sores. 

After  a  long  and  very  painful  sickness,  S.  Rose  died,  on 
August  24th,  A.D.  1617,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one.  She  was 
canonized  by  Pope  Clement  X.  in  167 1,  after  an  apostolic 
commission  had  been  issued  by  Pope  Urban  VIH.  in  1630, 
to  obtain  inforraalion  re^^arding  her  merits  and  miracles. 


•>:<- 


328  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  1^. 


August  27. 

The  Ethiopian  Eunuch,  baptized  by  S.  Philip;  \st  cent. 

SS.   Marcellus,    Mamm/Ea    and    Others,    MM.    in    Egypt; 

A.D.  303. 
SS.  RuFus,  Carpo,  and  Others,  MM.  at  Capua;  circ.  a.d.  303. 
S.  Euthalia,  V.M.  at  Lentitti,  in  Sicily. 
S.  PoEMEN,  H.  at  Scete,  i?i  Egypt ;  circ.  a.d.  450. 
S.  Lycerius,  £.  ofConserans,  at  Lacerda;  end  of  dth  cent. 
S.  C^esarius,  B.  0/ Aries;  a.d.  542. 
S.  Syagrius,  B.  of  Autun ;  circ.  a.d.  600. 
S.  iETHERios,  B.  of  Lyons  ;  a.d.  602. 

S.  Decuman,  H.M.  tiear  Dunster,  in  Somersetshire ;  a.d.  706. 
S.  Maelrubha,  Mk.  M.  in  M earns  ;  a.d.  722. 
S.  Werenfried,  p.  at  Elst,  in  Guelders;  a.d.  760. 
S.  Gerhardt,  B.  of  Constance  ;  a.d.  J195. 

SS.  MARCELLUS,  MAMM.^A  AND  OTHERS,  M.M. 

(a.d.  303.) 

[Martyrology  of  Jerome,  ancient  Roman  Martyrology,  Ado,  Usuar- 
ius,  &c.  Modern  Roman  "AtTomisin  Pontus  S.  Marcellinus  tribune; 
his  wife  Mannea,  and  their  sons  John,  Serapion,  and  Peter."  This  is 
inaccurate  in  several  particulars.  The  place  of  martyrdom  was  Thomis,  in 
EgyP'-  John  alone  was  their  son  according  to  Ado,  John  and  Babylas 
iccording  to  the  Acts,  John  and  Serapion  according  to  the  Martyrology  of 
ferome.  Authority  : — The  Acts,  which  are  perfectly  trustworthy,  written 
originally  in  Greek  :  "  I,  Julian  the  priest,  gave  these  relics  with  these  copies 
(of  their  Acts)  to  the  venerable  deaconess  Yssicia,  and  I  WTOte  them  by  the 
hand  of  my  son  Stelechius  in  the  possession  of  Rastocis,  on  account  of  the 
infirmity  of  my  eyes."] 

|lHE  precious  acts  of  these  martyrs,  of  rare  authen 
ticity  and  simplicity  of  style,  begin  thus  : — 

"  In  Egypt  were  crowned  the  holy  ones  in  the 
second  consulship  of  Diocletian  and  the  first  of 
Maximian,'  cruel  persecutors,  in  the  month  of  August,  on 
the  sixth  of  the  kalends  of  September,  under  the  governor 

'  This  is  not  quite  accurate,  it  was  the  third  consulship  of  Diocletian. 


August  27.]        SS.  Mar cellus  and  others.  329 

Cultianus.^  The  names  of  the  martyrs  were : — Peter,  a 
devout  soldier,  and  Chiro,  Ammon,  and  Serapion,  clerks, 
and  Marcellus,  a  tribune,  and  his  wife  Mammaea,  and  their 
sons  John  and  Babylas ;  and  Miletius  a  bishop,  and  Atheo- 
genes,  Aristeon,  Festus,  Victor,  Susanna,  Zoilus,  Dom- 
ninus,  and  Memnon.  These  were  accused  to  the  governor 
by  Hiero  and  Acatius,  because  they  were  Christians,  saying, 
"  These  are  the  only  ones  in  the  city  of  Oxyrhynchus 
who  contradict  the  imperial  precept,  and  they  are  impious 
in  the  religion  of  the  gods,  and  they  despise  thy  tribunal, 
by  not  obeying  thy  commands." 

The  governor  ordered  them  to  be  brought  before  him  in 
chains.  He  tried  in  vain  to  move  them  to  obedience,  and 
when  they  proved  inflexible,  condemned  them  to  the  wild 
beasts. 

But  even  on  the  morrow,  when  they  were  brought  into 
the  amphitheatre  before  all  the  people,  he  would  not  give 
the  word  for  the  beasts  to  be  let  loose  on  them  till  he  had 
once  more  endeavoured  to  shake  their  resolution. 

"  Do  you  not  blush,"  said  he,  "  to  worship  a  man  who  was 
executed  and  buried  some  years  ago  by  order  of  Pontius 
Pilate,  whose  Acts,  as  I  have  heard,  are  still  extant?'" 

Then  with  one  voice  the  Bishop  Miletius  and  the  inno- 
cent boy  cried  out.  "Far  be  it  from  us  to  deny  the 
name  of  our  Lord  and  God  Jesus  Christ,  the  living  Word, 

*  S.  Epiphaiius,  Haeres,  Ixviii.,  says,  "  Culeianus  was  governor  of  the  Thebaid,"  at 
that  time,  when  the  persecution  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian  raged  in  Egj-pt. 

*  An  allusion  to  certain  Acts  of  Pilate  then  circulating.  Eusebius  says  :  "  Having 
found  certain  Acts  of  Pilate,  respecting  our  Saviour,  full  of  every  kind  of  blasphemy 
against  Christ,  these  by  consent  of  the  Emperor  were  sent  through  the  whole  of  thu 
Empire  subject  to  him,  commanding  at  the  same  time  by  ordinances  in  every  place 
and  city,  and  the  adjacent  districts,  that  these  should  be  published  to  all  persons,  and 
given  to  the  schoolmasters  to  hand  to  their  pupils  to  study  and  commit  to  memory, 
as  exercises  for  declamation."  It  is  not  probable  that  the  Emperors  would  lend 
themselves  to  circulate  a  deliberate  forgery.  Wliat  is  far  more  likely  is  that  these 
Acts  were  genuine,  extracted  from  the  register  of  Pilate.  To  meet  them  the 
Christians  forged  Reports  of  Pontius  Pilate  to  Tiberius,  and  letters  from  him  to  King 
Herod,  and  interpolated  an  accoiut  of  Christ  in  the  Antiquities  of  Josephus. 


-* 


330  Lives  of  the  Saints,  f^ugust  ^^. 

who  was  before  the  constitution  of  the  world,  of  one  sub- 
stance with  the  Father/  who  strengthens  our  fragile  nature 
and  restores  the  ruin  wrought  by  your  father  the  devil.  If 
thou  seekest  our  death,  do  thy  worst,  for  we  are  not  disposed 
to  give  ear  to  thee." 

Then  Cultianus  ordered  the  beasts  to  be  let  loose,  and 
four  she-bears  were  sent  out  of  their  dens  by  the  manager 
of  the  sports.  But  the  bears  clumsily  strode  about  the  open 
space,  showed  no  disposition  to  injure  the  large  band  of 
Christians,  and  rolled  on  the  sand. 

"  Ha !"  said  the  governor,-  "  the  beasts  are  bewitched. 
Try  fire." 

A  pile  of  wood  was  erected,  and  the  martyrs  crowded  on 
it,  but  either  the  wood  was  too  green,  or  the  wind  too  high  ; 
the  pile  would  not  burn,  and  the  patience  of  the  governor 
being  exhausted,  he  ordered  the  martyrs  to  have  their  heads 
struck  off. 


S.  POEM  EN,  H. 
(about  a.d.  450.) 

[Greek  Menolog^y  and  Menasa,  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Autho- 
rities : — A  life  by  Laurence,  monk  of  Ruti  in  Calabria  ;  his  apophthegms, 
and  mention  of  him  in  the  Lives  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Desert.] 

*'  There  is  not  a  more  celebrated  name  in  the  history  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Desert  than  that  of  Poemen  or  Pastor," 
says  Tillemont.  The  Greeks  lavish  on  him  the  loftiest 
praise  in  their  Menseas  and  Synaxarium.  They  call  him 
the  fellow  citizen  of  angels,  the  chief  of  the  solitaries,  the 

'  Written  evidently  after  the  Council  of  Nicaea,  a.d.  325.  The  martyrs  could  not 
have  used  the  expression. 


*i*' 


►  4- 


August  37.] 


^S".  Poemen. 


331 


prince  of  the  desert.  They  say  that  he  was  a  lamp  of  dis- 
cretion Hghtening  along  the  dark  path  of  men,  leading 
between  the  pitfalls  and  snares  to  the  gates  of  heaven. 

Poemen  was  an  Egyptian,  fifteen  years  old  when  he  deserted 
the  world.  When  he  went  out  into  the  desert  he  drew  with 
him  his  six  brothers,  of  whom  one  was  certainly  older,  the 
rest  must  have  been  mere  children.  Why  they  fled  the 
world  we  know  not.  Perhaps  the  boys  were  suddenly  left 
orphans,  and  finding  the  world's  heart  closed  to  them,  fled 
it  in  disgust  to  live  in  the  desert  with  God.  The  elder 
brother  of  Poemen  was  named  Anub  or  Ruph,  and  the 
younger  one  Paes. 

So  these  seven  youthful  anchorites  grew  up  together  in 
the  solitude  of  Scete.  Poemen  fasted  twice  a  week ;  as  he 
grew  to  man's  estate  he  made  his  fasts  five  in  the  week  ;  as 
his  age  declined  he  reduced  their  severity,  and  ate  one  little 
meal  every  day,  always  observing  the  golden  rule  for  health 
and  m_anners,  to  leave  off  with  an  appetite.  "  This,"  said  he, 
"is  the  ro3'al  road  that  leads  to  salvation."  "We  do  not 
fast,"  said  he,  "to  kill  our  bodies,  but  our  passions." 
"  Let  a  monk  eat  once  a  day,  but  without  gorging  him- 
self; that  is  better  than  severe  fasting;  for  he  who  makes 
long  fasts  often  gets  proud  of  his  achievements,  and  a 
small  dinner  prevents  that,  and  also  lets  him  feel  hunger  in 
his  entrails." 

The  seven  brothers,  under  the  direction  of  the  eldest, 
Anub,  lived  in  Scete  till  an  irruption  of  the  Mazics,  or 
Bedouins,  drove  them  to  Terenuth,  where  they  found  an  old 
temple,  and  took  up  their  abode  in  it,  under  the  shadow  of 
its  painted  columns  and  gigantic  grave-faced  images.  Anub 
occupied  himself  every  morning  with  throwing  stones  at 
one  of  the  idols,  and  in  the  evening  he  bowed  his  knee 
to  it,  and  apologized  for  the  insult  and  injury  he  had 
done  it. 


^ 


332  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  ay. 

This  went  on  for  seven  days,  and  then  the  curiosity  of  his 
brothers  broke  through  all  restraiut,  and  they  asked  him  the 
meaning  of  his  extraordinary  conduct. 

"  I  threw  stones  at  the  face  of  the  image.  Did  it  scowl 
or  look  sulky,  or  utter  words  of  anger  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  And  when  I  bowed  the  knee  to  it,  and  showed  it  pro- 
found respect,  did  it  smile  and  look  pleased  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then,"  said  Anub,  "  here  are  we  seven  brothers.  If  we 
purpose  in  our  hearts  to  be  like  that  image,  unmoved  by 
what  we  say  or  do  to  one  another,  then  by  all  means  let  us 
dwell  here  together.  But  if  we  are  going  to  resent  wrongs 
or  bitter  speeches,  or  be  pleased  with  flattery,  here  are  four 
doors,  and  let  us  separate." 

Poor  little  Paes  gave  the  elder  brothers  trouble.  He 
would  froHc  about,  laugh  and  shout  in  the  ghostly  courts  of 
the  old  temple,  rob  nests,  amuse  himself  with  the  pictures 
in  blue  and  red  and  yellow  on  the  long  walls,  and  huge 
drums  of  columns,  objected  to  fasting,  preferred  a  romp  to 
a  prayer,  could  not  meditate,  and  fell  fast  asleep  when  he 
ought  to  be  reciting  psalms. 

Two  of  the  brothers  could  not  endure  this.  The  inno- 
cent child's  mirth  and  unmonkish  levity  distracted  them, 
and  they  took  their  staffs  and  wallets  to  depart.  But  little 
Paes  ran  over  the  desert  after  them,  flung  himself  at  their 
feet,  and  implored  them  to  return,  promising  amendment. 
In  time  all  light-heartedness  and  natural  spirits  were  crushed 
out  of  him,  and  he  grew  up  as  grim  and  austere  as  they 
could  desire. 

In  after  years  Poemen  softened  to  childish  noise  and 
lightness  of  heart,  and  when,  at  Diolchus  near  Pelusium,  his 
brothers  grumbled  that  they  could  neither  meditate  nor  pray 
near  the  monastery  because  of  the  chirping  and  chattering 


-*< 


^ ^ 

August  .7.]  S.  Poemen.  333 

of  children  in  it/  "  I  love  to  hear  angels'  voices,"  said 
Poemen.  "  Voices  that  speak  of  innocence  come  out  of 
Paradise,  and  cannot  distract." 

A  painful  story  is  told  of  the  brothers.  Their  aged 
mother  yearned  to  see  her  sons,  and  came  to  the  door, 
and  knocked.  This  was  not  when  they  haunted  the  old 
temple,  but  inhabited  a  monastery,  when  and  where  cannot 
be  exactly  decided,  but  it  was  probably  when  they  were  at 
Diolchus.  She  went  to  their  retreat  and  strove  to  see  them, 
but  all  in  vain,  their  doors  were  shut  against  her.  She 
waited  till  Sunday,  when  she  knew  that  they  would  come 
forth  to  go  to  church.  When  they  issued  from  their  cells, 
they  saw  their  old  mother  waiting  for  them,  and  instantly 
drew  back  and  fastened  the  door.  She  ran  after  them,  and 
beat  at  the  door,  wailing,  "  My  sons,  my  sons  !  do  not 
refuse  me  the  joy  of  seeing  your  faces  once  more  ! "  And 
through  the  door  they  heard  her  sobbing. 

Anub,  moved  at  the  tears  of  his  mother,  said  to  Poemen, 
"  What  is  to  be  done  ?     Our  mother  is  weeping." 

Poemen  went  close  to  the  door  and  said,  "  Why,  mother, 
dost  thou  cry  ?" 

She  recognised  his  voice  at  once,  and  exclaimed,  "  O,  my 
children  !  I  long  to  see  you  again.  Why  should  my  old  eyes 
and  heart  be  denied  this  satisfaction  ?  Am  I  not  your 
mother,  did  I  not  nourish  you  at  my  breasts  ?  I  am  very 
old.  When  I  heard  your  voice,  my  heart  leaped  up  within 
me,  and  I  yearn,  I  yearn  to  see  you." 

"  My  mother,"  coldly  answered  Poemen  "which  do  you 
prefer — to  see  us  now  for  one  glimpse,  or  to  behold  us  with 
uncowled  heads  in  the  unclouded  light  of  eternal  day  ?  " 

"  If  I  were  but  sure  I  might  see  you  hereafter,  I  should 
perhaps  be  content." 

•  It  was  ctistomary  for  very  young  boys  to  be  taken  into  the  monasteries  and 
trained  from  infancy  to  become  monks. 

4< — * 


* 


334  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  27. 

"  Doubt  not,"  said  Poeraen.  "  Make  now  this  sacrifice 
of  your  heart's  wish  to  God,  and  you  will  enjoy  our  society 
hereafter  for  ever." 

"So  let  it  be,  then,"  said  the  old  woman  with  a  sigh;  and 
with  drooping  head,  and  tears  flowing  down  her  wrinkled 
cheeks,  she  withdrew.  In  this  life  she  never  saw  her  sons 
again.  When  she  died,  other  hands  closed  her  eyes ;  her 
sons  were  too  dead  to  the  world  to  remember  their  natural 
duties. 

The  Governor  of  Lower  Egypt,  anxious  to  see  Poemen, 
arrested  his  nephew,  the  son  of  a  married  sister ;  and  the 
sister  wrote  to  Poemen  imploring  him  to  intercede  with  the 
governor  to  spare  the  life  of  her  son. 

Poemen,  with  icy  indifference,  replied,  "  If  he  is  guilty  of 
a  crime,  let  him  die ;  if  he  is  innocent,  he  will  obtain  his 
discharge." 

The  lad  was  released. 

Another  anecdote  exhibits  an  intensity  of  selfishness  most 
repulsive.  When  the  governor  was  at  Diolchus,  he  had 
imprisoned  a  man  on  some  charge  or  other.  The  people  of 
the  neighbourhood  went  to  Poemen  with  tears,  entreating 
him  to  obtain  for  them  the  liberation  of  the  prisoner, 
thinking  that  the  governor  would  refuse  him  nothing. 
Poemen  was  forced  to  intervene,  but  not  before  he  had 
spent  three  days  in  prayer  that  God  would  induce  the 
governor  to  refuse  his  request,  knowing  that  if  this  one  were 
acceded  to,  his  time  would  be  broken  into  by  the  people 
urging  him  to  interfere  in  other  cases. 

When  he  made  his  request,  it  was  with  such  indifference 
that  the  governor  refused  it. 

But  as  years  passed.  Poem  en's  character  changed.  All 
traces  of  harshness  disappeared,  it  softened  and  sweetened, 
till  none  of  the  solitaries  surpassed  him  in  tenderness  and 


* 


-* 


August  37.) 


.S".  Poemen.  335 


beauty  of  mind  and  action,  in  deeper  insight  into  God's  will 
and  greater  charity  towards  others. 

Anub  remained  head  of  the  community  of  brothers  till  his 
death,  and  the  seven  were  knit  together  in  bonds  of  the 
warmest  afifection.  "We  lived  together,"  said  Poemen  in 
his  old  age,  "  till  death  broke  up  our  companionship,  in  tlie 
greatest  unity,  tasting  its  fruits  of  peace  without  ceasing. 
We  followed  the  rule  Anub  imposed  on  us ;  one  of  us  was 
made  steward  by  Anub,  and  he  had  the  care  of  providing 
for  our  table.  We  ate  whatever  was  set  before  us,  and  no 
one  said,  Give  me  something  else,  I  cannot  eat  this." 

One  day  Poemen  went  a  long  trudge  over  the  barren 
desert  to  visit  an  aged  solitary,  who  he  heard  was  much 
distressed  in  conscience.  Poemen  had  thought  of  tliree 
things  to  say  to  the  old  man,  which  be  believed  would  rest 
his  troubled  soul,  but  when  he  got  to  his  cave  he  had 
forgotten  one  of  them.  On  his  return  home,  when  his 
hand  was  on  the  lock  of  the  door,  the  third  point  of 
consolation  recurred  to  him.  Without  entering  his  house 
he  turned  back,  and  retraced  his  journey  to  the  old  hermit's 
cell,  to  pour  into  his  ear  this  third  motive  why  his  uneasy 
spirit  should  lie  down  and  rest.  The  aged  solitary  was 
moved  by  this  token  of  solicitude  for  souls,  and  said  to  him, 
"Thou  art  indeed  a  Poemen — a  shepherd  of  the  flock  of 
Jesus." 

The  priest  of  Pelusium,  hearing  that  some  of  the  solitaries 
of  Diolchos  were  wont  to  come  into  the  city  and  take  baths*, 
was  indignant  at  their  self-indulgence,  and  going  to  the 
monastery  pulled  their  habits  off  eleven  of  them  ;  then  went 
to  Poemen,  and  asked  if  he  had  done  well.  "  Had  you 
divested  yourself  of  the  old  man  before  you  exercised  your 

*  These  baths  were  not  so  much  for  cleanliness  as  for  luxury  :  like  the  Turkish 
baths,  they  consisted  in  exposing  the  bather  to  hot  air  ;  he  was  shampooed,  rubbed 
with  scented  oils,  and  his  hair  dressed  with  aromatic  ointments. 


>if. »J, 


33^  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  27. 


zeal  in  unfrocking  these  monks?"  asked  Poemen.  The 
priest  was  ashamed  of  himself,  went  back  to  the  monastery, 
and  restored  their  habits  to  the  eleven. 

An  anchorite  having  heard  that  a  monk  had  committed  a 
fault,  exhorted  the  abbot  to  turn  him  out  of  the  monastery. 
The  expelled  monk  cast  himself  into  a  ditch  near  the  gate, 
and  wept  there,  refusing  food.  Some  of  Poemen's  disciples 
told  him  that  the  man  was  broken-hearted  at  his  expulsion, 
and  would  starve  himself  to  death.  Poemen  ordered  him 
to  be  removed  to  his  cell,  and  then  sent  to  the  anchorite 
by  whose  advice  the  monk  had  been  driven  out,  and  asked 
him  to  break  bread  with  him.  The  anchorite  came. 
Poemen  said,  "  Two  persons  had  each  a  dead  man  in  his 
house,  and  yet  one  had  the  compassion  to  leave  his,  and 
come  to  his  neighbour  to  bewail  with  him  his  corpse."  The 
anchorite  applied  the  parable  to  himself,  and  blushed,  and 
exclaimed,  *'  Poemen  is  high  as  heaven ;  I  am  base  as  the 
earth." 

A  solitary  said  to  Poemen,  "  When  a  brother  comes  to 
see  me  who  is  a  pious  man,  I  receive  him  with  joy ;  but  if 
another  comes  who  has  fallen  in  any  way  from  his  high 
profession,  I  shut  the  door  in  his  face." 

"  You  do  wrong,"  said  Poemen.  "  The  sick  soul  needs  the 
gentle  hands  of  the  nurse,  and  the  tender  care  of  the  hospital; 
throw  open  the  door,  spread  your  arms  to  the  sinner." 

A  young  monk  came  often  to  visit  Poemen,  but  Poemen 
could  see  by  the  wistful  face  and  troubled  brow  of  his 
visitor  that  the  youth  wanted  something,  but  was  ashamed 
to  speak.  After  several  of  these  visits  without  their  leading 
to  anything,  Poemen  broke  the  ice  with,  "  My  brother,  I 
see  there  is  something  troubling  your  soul ;  tell  me  your 
heart,  and  I  will  give  you  what  medicine  I  think  you  need." 

Then  the  young  man  broke  silence,  and  related  to  him 
his  secret  trouble,  thoughts  of  blasphemy. 


^^- 


August  37.] 


6".  Poemen.  337 


"Do  you  take  pleasure  in  these  thoughts?"  asked  the 
Abbot  Poemen. 

"  I  hate  and  detest  them,"  answered  the  young  monk. 

"Be  of  good  cheer,"  said  Poemen;  "if  you  cast  them 
out  without  giving  them  consent,  they  cannot  hurt,  though 
they  may  distress  you." 

Another  monk  said  to  him,  "  Father,  what  am  I  to  do  ?  I 
have  impure  thoughts  rising  in  my  mind." 

"  Don't  think  of  them,"  said  Poemen. 

"  And  ill-natured  thoughts  of  others  rise  up." 

"  Don't  think  of  them,"  said  Poemen. 

Another  monk  again  came  to  him.  The  burning  of 
impure  imaginations  pained  him. 

"  What  shall  I  do,  my  father,  my  father  ?" 

The  abbot  led  him  out  of  the  door  of  his  cell.  The  flat, 
glaring  desert  lay  before  them,  a  mirage  quivering  over  the 
burning  sand.  A  hot  breath  like  that  from  a  kiln  swept 
towards  them. 

"  Open  the  breast  of  your  habit,"  said  Poemen.  The 
burning  blast  fanned  the  bared  breast  of  the  monk,  "  Fold 
your  robe  over  you  again,"  said  the  abbot.  "  And  now  tell 
me,  have  you  enclosed  the  hot  wind  m  your  bosom  ?" 

"  No." 

"  So  let  passion  sweep  by,  like  a  scorching  breath,  fanning 
you.  You  cannot  help  that.  Let  it  pass.  Do  not  take  it 
in  and  harbour  it." 

"  Temptations,"  said  another  abbot,  Sisoes,  "  are  like  an 
axe.  They  may  cut  down  your  hopes  of  salvation  and  lop 
off  your  virtues,  but  they  can  do  nothing  against  you  unless 
you  take  them  up  by  an  act  of  will,  and  give  consent  to 
them." 

Some  touching  instances  of  the  gentleness  of  Poemen  are 
recorded.  A  monk  said  to  him,  "  Those  young  novices  do 
not  keep  awake  during  the  offices  in  the  church  at   night 

VOL.  IX.  22 


*- 


338  Lives  of  the  Saints.  f^ugust  .7. 

I  see  their  heads  nodding.  Shall  I  not  go  round  and  shake 
them?" 

"  Poor  fellows,"  said  Poemen.  "  Do  nothing  of  the  kind. 
When  I  see  their  sleepy  heads  droop,  I  wish  I  might  spread 
out  my  lap,  and  let  the  heads  lie  easy  on  it,  that  they  might 
sleep  in  peace," 

The  Abbot  Nesteros  was  reproved  by  some  for  being  so 
indulgent  to  his  disciple  that  he  allowed  him  a  pillow.  "  I 
should  like  to  put  another  pillow  under  his  head,"  said 
Poemen. 

It  was  told  him  that  there  was  a  woman  in  a  neighbouring 
town  who  was  a  sinner.  "  Yet,"  said  the  Abbot  Timothy, 
who  told  him  of  her,  "the  woman  has  elements  of  good  in 
her.     She  is  spoken  of  as  very  charitable  to  the  poor." 

"  Be  at  rest,"  said  Poemen.  "  If  there  is  a  rent  in  the 
clouds  the  sun  will  shine  through." 

Some  time  after,  he  heard  from  Timothy's  mother  about 
the  same  woman,  that  she  was  going  on  in  the  same  way, 
charitable,  but  still  living  in  sin.  "  Do  not  be  afraid  ;  she 
will  serve  God  in  the  end." 

At  last  the  poor  woman  was  somehow  or  other  induced 
to  visit  Poemen.  The  dove-like  gentleness  of  the  good  old 
man,  his  overflowing  charity,  completely  won  her  heart. 
She  broke  into  floods  of  tears,  fell  at  his  feet,  and  resolved 
to  abandon  her  sins,  and  live  to  God  alone.  She  afterwards 
entered  a  convent,  and  lived  a  holy  life. 

"  I  cannot  endure  my  present  cell,"  said  a  monk  to  him 
one  day.  "  In  my  neighbourhood  is  another  monk  of  whom 
all  sorts  of  scandalous  stories  circulate." 

"  Are  they  true  T 

"  I  have  had  the  stories  on  the  best  authority,  on  the 
word  of  a  monk." 

"  A  monk  !"  exclaimed  Poemen,  "  Telling  scandalous 
stories.     I  should  not  call  that  good  authority  at  all.     A 


-* 


-►  < 


August  37.] 


S.  Poeinen.  339 


monk  who  tells  such  tales  has  fallen  from  his  profession,  and 
is  unworthy  of  belief" 

"  But  if  the  stories  be  true ?" 

Poemen  stooped  down  and  picked  up  a  straw,  then  looked 
up  at  a  beam  over  his  head.  "  This  straw  is  my  neighbour's 
sin  which  I  trample  on  with  such  scorn ;  that  log  is  my  sin 
which  I  rarely  notice,  but  which  may  one  day  fall  and 
crush  me." 

When  the  Abbot  Sisoes  heard  of  this  answer  of  Poemen, 
he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Words  precious  as  a  goodly 
gem  and  quite  as  shining." 

It  is  said  of  Poemen,  but  the  story  is  also  told  of  Sisoes,* 
that  a  soUtary  came  to  him,  and  said,  "  My  father,  I  have 
committed  a  grievous  fault,  and  must  do  penance  for  it  for 
three  years." 

"  Three  years  !"  echoed  Poemen ;  "  that  is  a  very  long 
penance." 

"  What !  is  that  too  long?    At  least  for  a  year  then." 

"  Too  long,  too  long  !"  said  Poemen. 

Those  who  were  present,  seeing  the  solitary  full  of  surprise, 
and  unable  to  speak,  interfered,  and  said,  "  How  long  would 
you  have  him  punish  himself  for  his  fault  ?  During  forty 
days?" 

"That  is  too  much,"  said  the  abbot.  "  A  broken  and  a 
contrite  heart  God  will  not  despise,  with  only  three  days  of 
penance." 

A  monk  who  suffered  from  violent  temptations  to  which 
he  had  too  often  yielded,  was  advised  by  Poemen  to  go  far 
into  the  desert  for  a  while,  and  wrestle  with  his  bad  temper, 
and  conquer  it,  before  he  returned  to  dwell  among  others. 
"  But,  my  father,"  said  the  monk,  "  how  if  I  were  to  die 
without  sacraments  in  the  wild  wastes  ?" 

"  Do  you  not  think  God  would  not  receive  you,  coming 

'  July  6,  p.  141. 


* 


>r 

340  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  27. 

from  the  battle-field  where  you  have  been  striving  against 
your  passions,  even  should  that  happen  ?" 

Another  monk  asked  him,  "  Where  shall  I  settle  down  ? 
"What  place  will  be  most  suitable  to  me  ?" 

"  Any  place  will  be  suitable,"  said  Poemen,  "where  you 
do  not  cause  annoyance  to  other  people." 

"  Had  I  better  live  in  community  or  in  solitude  ?"  asked 
another. 

"  Wherever  you  find  yourself  humble-minded  there  you 
may  dwell  with  security,"  answered  Poemen.  "  But  if  you 
have  a  great  opinion  of  yourself,  nowhere  is  fit  for  you." 

"Silence,"  said  Poemen,  "is  an  excellent  thing.  But 
people  who  hold  their  tongues  should  not  always  account 
themselves  as  silent.  If  their  minds  are  occupied  with  their 
neighbours'  shortcomings,  their  silence  is  as  bad  as  senseless 
chattering." 

"  Do  not  trouble  others  by  asking  advice  where  no  advice 
is  necessary.  If  a  course  of  conduct  be  wrong,  do  not  adopt 
it,  but  don't  waste  the  time  and  distract  the  attention  of  the 
aged  solitaries  by  asking  advice  about  it." 

Once  a  hermit  came  from  a  long  way  off  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Poemen.  He  was  a  man  held  in  great  esteem  in  his  own 
country  for  his  profound  theological  knowledge.  On  his 
arrival  he  sat  down  with  Poemen,  and  opening  his  mouth 
began  to  talk  about  abstruse  theological  questions.  Poemen 
turned  his  head  away,  and  looked  out  of  the  door  at  the 
hot  sand,  and  the  date-palms  motionless  on  the  horizon. 
The  anchorite  could  get  nothing  out  of  Poemen,  and  went 
away  in  disgust,  saying,  "  I  wish  I  had  not  taken  the 
trouble  to  come  so  far  and  see  this  ignorant  old  fellow." 

This  was  reported  to  Poemen. 

"  This  anchorite  flies  far  above  my  reach,"  he  said  ;  "  he 
sails  up  in  heaven,  but  I  am  of  the  earth.  If  he  would  talk 
about  our  passions  and  infirmities,  and  how  to  overcome 

^ i^ 


*■•*- 


August  27.] 


6'.  Poemen.  341 


them,  then  we  should  have  some  subject  in  common  on 
which  I  could  speak." 

When  any  one  complained  to  Poemen  of  the  devil  torment- 
ing him  with  discouraging  thoughts,  he  used  to  say,  "  Ah ! 
Isidore  of  Scete  used,  under  those  circumstances,  to  say, 
Well,  devil,  suppose  I  be  lost  ?  You  will  always  be  below 
me."  But  to  some  he  said,  "  Devils,  devils  !  it  is  always 
devils  that  are  complained  of.     I  say,  self-will,  self-will." 

A  Syrian  solitary  came  to  him  once,  lamenting  the  hard- 
ness of  his  heart.  "  Read  the  Word  of  God,"  said  Poemen  ; 
"  the  drip  of  a  fountain  pierces  the  stone,  and  the  gentle 
word  falling  softly  day  by  day  on  the  dead  hard  heart  after 
a  while  infallibly  melts  it." 

**  What  am  I  to  do  ?"  asked  a  monk  of  Poemen.  "  I  have 
got  a  neighbour,  and  I  am  continually  doing  him  little  acts 
of  kindness,  yet  I  always  find  that  there  is  self-satisfaction  or 
some  mean  unworthy  motive  mixed  up  with  my  intent.  Shall 
I  forbear  ?" 

"  There  were  two  men  who  had  fields,"  said  the  abbot  in 
reply.  "  The  one  sowed  corn,  and  with  it  tares,  the  other 
sowed  nothing  in  his  field,  and  it  grew  up  covered  with 
weeds.  But  he  who  had  sowed  corn  and  tares  reaped  a 
mixed  crop,  some  good,  some  bad  ;  but  he  took  pains  to 
sort  the  corn  from  the  tares.  Which  acted  best  ?"  There 
was  but  one  answer. 

"Fly  from  all  occasions  of  temptation,"  said  Poemen. 
"  If  still  tempted,  fly  further  still.  If  there  is  no  escape 
possible,  then  have  done  with  running  away,  show  a  bold 
face,  and  take  the  two-edged  sword  of  the  Spirit."  "  Some 
temptations,"  he  advised  on  another  occasion,  "  must  be 
taken  by  the  throat,  as  David  killed  the  lion.  Others  must 
be  stifled,  as  David  hugged  the  bear  to  death.  Some  you 
had  better  keep  to  yourself,  and  don't  give  them  air.  Shut 
them  up,  as  scorpions  in  a  bottle.     Scorpions  in  such  con- 


-* 


^4- 


342 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  27. 


finement  soon  die ;  but  if  allowed  out  for  a  crawl,  and  then 
put  back  in  their  bottles  and  corked  down,  they  will  live  a 
long  while  and  give  trouble.  Keep  the  cork  down  on  some 
temptations  and  they  die  of  themselves." 

A  brother  was  remarking  to  Poemen  of  a  hermit  who,  he 
said,  held  evil  in  abhorrence. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  expression  ?"  asked  the 
abbot.  The  monk  lapsed  into  generalities.  "  Do  not  talk 
so  vaguely,"  said  Poemen.  "  Say  that  he  hates  all  the  bad 
habits,  bad  tempers,  bad  thoughts  which  he  finds  in  himself, 
and  then  I  can  understand  you.  I  do  not  like  to  think  of 
monks  learning  about  evil  in  order  to  acquire  an  abhorrence 
of  it." 

The  superior  of  a  monastery  asked  him  how  to  acquire 
the  fear  of  God.  Poemen  knew  probably  that  in  this 
monastery  the  monks  made  good  cheer. 

"  Nabuzaradan,  chief  cook*  of  the  King  of  Assyria,  took 
Jerusalem,"  said  Poemen.  "  Many  a  peaceful  Jerusalem  is 
despoiled  by  cooks  and  cookery." 

"  Inconveniences  always  swell  to  double  their  size  when 
grumbled  over." 

"  What  is  a  living  faith  ?"  was  a  question  put  to  Poemen 
one  day.  "  A  Uving  faith,"  he  answered,  "  consists  in  think- 
ing Httle  of  oneself,  and  showing  tenderness  towards 
others." 

"  Do  not  contemplate  self  too  long,"  was  one  of  Poemen's 
sayings.  "  He  who  does  so  is  Hke  one  standing  at  the  brink 
of  a  pond  looking  at  his  reflection.  He  is  just  in  the  position 
for  the  devil  with  a  push  to  tumble  him  into  destruction." 

Another  of  his  sayings,  "  A  warm  heart,  boiling  with 
charity  to  God  and  man,  is  not  tormented  with  temptations ; 


'  So  the  LXX.,  apxtM-aV'pos  (2  Kings  xxv.  3).  But  the  Vulgate,  more  correctly, 
magistermilitum  :  that  is  "captain  of  the  guard,"  or  "  chief  executioner."  There 
is  frequent  use  of  S.  Poemen's  remark  in  mediaeval  exegesis. 


►  +- 


August  aj.'] 


S.  Ccesarius. 


343 


they  swarm  round  a  cold  one.  You  see  no  flies  hovering 
about  the  caldron  boiling  on  the  fire.  Set  it  down  and  let 
it  grow  cold,  and  it  is  black  with  flies." 

It  is  not  kno\vn  with  certainty  when  Poemen  died,  but 
it  was  probably  at  the  advanced  age  of  a  hundred  and 
ten. 


S.  CiESARIUS,  B.  OF  ARLES. 
(a.d.  542.) 

[Roman  and  GalHcan  Martyrologies.  Authorities : — A  life  in  two 
books,  the  first  by  Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Toulouse,  the  second  by  Messianus 
the  priest  and  Stephen  the  deacon.  C)^rian  certainly  was  a  disciple  of 
S.  Cassarius,  the  other  two  probably  were  so.  Cyprian  was  assisted  in  his 
composition  of  the  first  book  by  Messianus  and  Stephen  and  the  bishops 
Firmus  and  Viventius,  all  contemporaries  of  Caesarius.] 

C^SARius,  son  of  the  Count  of  Chalons,  was  bom  in 
Burgundy,  in  a.d.  470,  and  from  earliest  childhood  showed 
a  disposition  to  embrace  the  religious  life.  When  only 
seven  he  was  wont  to  divest  himself  of  his  clothes  and  give 
them  away  to  any  beggar  who  asked  for  them,  and  return  to 
his  parents  nearly  naked. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  ran  away  from  home,  and 
received  the  tonsure  from  the  hands  of  S.  Silvester,  after- 
wards (a.d.  490)  Bishop  of  Chalons-sur-Marne.  In  490, 
Caesarius  became  a  member  of  the  monastic  community  of 
Lerins.  Thence  he  was  drawn  in  501  to  succeed  the  first 
fathers  of  the  holy  isle,  Honoratus  and  Hilary,  upon  the 
archiepiscopal  throne  of  Aries.  He  was  for  nearly  half  a 
century  the  most  illustrious  and  most  influential  of  the 
bishops  of  Southern  Gaul ;  he  presided  over  four  councils, 
and  directed  the  great  controversies  of  his  time.  Accused 
to  Alaric  II.,  King  of  the  Goths,  of  treasonable  correspon- 


*- 


344  Lives  of  the  Saiyits 


[August  37. 


dence  with,  perhaps,  Clovis,  he  was  banished  to  Bordeaux ; 
but  was  speedily  recalled.  Alaric  II.  was  killed  in  battle 
by  Clovis  in  507,  and  Theodoric,  King  of  the  Ostrogoths, 
marched  out  an  army,  arrested  the  victorious  arms  of  the 
Franks,  and  assumed  the  government  of  Spain  and  Aquitain 
as  self-constituted  guardian  of  Amalaric  III.,  infant  son  of 
Alaric. 

Csesarius  had  been  engaged  in  erecting  a  great  monastery 
for  women  at  Aries  when  the  Franks  and  Ostrogoths  met 
under  its  walls  in  desperate  conflict.  Clovis  was  defeated. 
The  monastery  was  reduced  to  a  ruin.  A  priest,  a  relative 
of  Caesarius,  had  the  mearmess  to  let  himself  down  the  walls 
by  night,  escape  to  Theodoric,  and  denounce  Csesarius  as 
actively  engaged  in  organizing  an  opposition  to  the  Ostro- 
goth arms,  and  as  purposing  to  deliver  up  the  town  to  the 
Catholic  Clovis,  so  as  not  to  receive  within  its  walls  an 
Arian  tyrant.  As  soon  as  Aries  was  taken,  Csesarius  was 
led  under  custody  before  Theodoric,  but  was  speedily 
released  by  that  great-minded  prince,  who  ascertained  the 
innocence  of  the  bishop.  Another  and  similar  charge  was 
made  against  him  later,  and  Csesarir.s  was  obliged  to  travel 
to  Ravenna  to  exculpate  himself  before  Theodoric.  Thence 
he  went  on  to  Rome,  where  Pope  Symmachus  received  him 
with  great  respect,  and  granted  permission  to  the  deacons 
of  the  church  of  Aries  to  wear  dalmatics  like  the  Roman 
deacons. 

On  his  return  to  Aries  Csesarius  set  to  work  to  rebuild 
the  monastery,  not  this  time  witiiout  the  waUs,  but  near  the 
metropolitan  church.  He  made  his  own  sister  Csesaria  the 
abbess,  and  she  governed  it  for  thirty  years,  and  shortly 
gathered  there  two  hundred  nuns.  This  brave  Christian 
woman  caused  to  be  prepared,  and  ranged  symmetrically 
round  the  church  of  the  monastery,  stone  coffins  for  herself 
and  for  each   of  the  sisters.     They  sang  all  day  and  night 

^ ^ 


*-<- 


August  27.] 


iS.  Decuman.  345 


the  praises  of  God  in  the  presence  of  the  new  tombs  that 
awaited  them. 

It  was  into  this  church  that  Csesarius  himself,  feeling  his 
end  approach,  had  himself  conveyed  to  bless  and  console 
his  daughters.  And,  certainly  at  that  moment  he  did  not 
forget  his  dear  island  of  Lerins,  where  the  calmest,  happiest 
years  of  his  hfe  had  been  spent. 

"  O  happy  isle,"  he  had  said,  "  O  blessed  solitude,  in 
which  the  majesty  of  the  Redeemer  makes  every  day  new 
conquests,  and  where  such  victories  are  won  over  Satan  ! 
Thrice  happy  isle,  which,  little  as  she  is,  produces  so 
numerous  an  offspring  for  heaven  !  It  is  she  who  nourishes 
all  those  illustrious  monks  who  are  sent  into  all  the  pro- 
vinces as  bishops.  When  they  arrive,  they  are  children ; 
when  they  go  out,  they  are  fathers.  She  receives  them  as 
recruits,  she  dismisses  them  as  kings.  She  teaches  all  her 
happy  inhabitants  to  soar  to  the  sublime  heights  of  Christ 
on  the  wings  of  humility  and  charity.  The  tender  and 
noble  mother,  the  nurse  of  good  men,  opened  her  arms  to 
me  also;  but  while  so  many  others  owe  heaven  to  her 
teaching,  the  hardness  of  my  heart  has  prevented  her  from 
accomplishing  her  task  in  me." 


S.  DECUMAN,  H.M. 

(a.d.  706.) 

[Wilson  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology,  Wyon,  Ferrarius  and  Castellanus, 
and  the  Bollandists.    Authority  : — A  legend  in  Capgrave.J 

Degeman,  in  Latin  Decumanus,  was  born  of  noble 
parents  in  the  south-west  of  Wales.  He  is  said  to  have 
thrown  a  faggot  of  rushes  into  the  waters  of  the  Severn  Sea, 
and  to  have  floated  across  upon  them  to  the  neighbourhood 


►i*- 


346 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  37. 


of  Dunster,  in  Somersetshire.  There  he  settled,  living  on 
the  milk  of  a  cow,  clearing  away  the  brambles,  and  making 
himself  a  wattled  hut.  A  robber  cut  off  his  head.  The 
story  goes  that  the  body  then  rose  up,  and,  carrying  the 
head  in  its  hands  to  a  fountain  at  which  Decuman  was 
wont  to  drink,  washed  it  in  the  limpid  spring.  The  date  of 
his  death  is  fixed  at  706,  but  not  with  certainty. 


S.  MAELRUBHA,  MK.  M. 
(a.d.  722.) 

[Irish  MartyroJogies  on  April  21 ;  Scottish  on  Aug.  27.  Authorities  : — 
Aberdeen  Breviary,  &c.,  see  "S.  Maelrubha,  his  History  and  Churches,"  by 
W.  Reeves,  D.D.  Edinb.  i86r,  in  Proceed.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scot.,  iii.  p.  258. 
For  a  curious  account  of  heathen  sacrifices  offered  to  this  saint,  and  of  the 
feelings  of  the  clergy  on  the  subject  in  the  17th  cent.,  see  Dr.  Mitchell's 
paper, ' '  On  Various  Superstitions  in  the  North-west  Highlands  and  Islands," 
ibid.,  iv.  p.  251.] 

S.  Maelrubha  was  bom  in  642,  of  an  ancient  Irish  royal 
family ;  he  was  descended  on  his  father's  side  in  a  direct 
line  from  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  at  an  early  age 
he  became  a  member  of  the  monastic  community  of  S. 
Comgal,  his  mother's  relative,  at  Banchor  in  Ireland. 

In  A.D.  671,  when  he  was  aged  twenty-nine,  he  went  to 
Alba,  and  after  two  years  he  founded  Apurcrossan  in 
Mearns,  where  he  resided  for  fifty-one  years.  He  also 
founded  a  church  on  an  island  in  Loch-maree,  which  takes 
its  name  from  him.  According  to  Irish  accounts  he  died  a 
natural  death,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  at  Apurcrossan,  but  the 
Scottish  accounts  are  more  likely  to  be  correct,  which  say 
that  he  was  killed  by  the  Northmen.  He  lay  for  three  days 
wounded  before  he  expired,  and  then  a  wooden  church  was 
built  over  the  spot,  which  afterwards  was  made  the  paro- 


*- 


-* 


August  37.] 


^S".  Werenfried.  347 


chial  church,  and  is  now  called  Urquard.     His  body  was 
translated  to  his  monastery  at  Apurcrossan. 

The  name  of  this  saint,  made  up  of  consonants  apt  to  be 
liquefied,  occurs  in  many  transmutations,  such  as  Mulruby, 
Mulrew,  Melriga,  Marow,  Murruy,  Arrow,  Errew,  Olron, 
Ro,  Rufus,  and,  taking  in  his  title,  Sumuiaruff,  Samarevis, 
and  Summereve. 


S.  WERENFRIED,  P.C. 
(about  a.d.  760.) 

[Belgian   Martyrologies.      Benedictine  Martyrologies  of  Menardus  and 
Wyon.     Authority  : — A  life  by  an  anonymous  writer.] 

S.  Werenfried,  a  companion  of  S.  Willibrord,  came 
from  England  into  Friesland  with  that  great  apostle,  and 
preached  the  faith  in  the  parts  about  Elst.  He  is  said  to 
have  died  at  Westervoert.  His  body  was  placed  on  a  boat, 
and  the  boat  floated  across  the  Rhine  and  stranded  on  the 
opposite  shore.  The  Elst  people  at  once  claimed  it,  and 
carried  it  off  to  their  village,  where  it  was  solemnly  buried. 


*- 


348  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 


August  28. 

S.  Hermes,  M.  at  Rome;  a.d.  ii6. 

SS.  FoRTUNATUS,  Caios,  AND  Antkus,  MM.  at  Salerno;  cire. 

A.D.  303. 

S.  Julian,  M.  at  Brivat,  in  Auvergne ;  circ.  a.d.  304. 
S.  Alexander,  B.  0/ Constantinople ;  a.d.  340. 
S.  MoYSES  THE  Ethiopian,  Ab.  M.  in  Scete  ;  ^thcent. 
S.  Augustine,  B.  Z*.  of  Hippo,  in  Africa;  a.d.  430. 
S.  Vivian,  B.  ofSaintes;  ^th  cent. 

S.  MOYSES  THE  ETHIOPIAN,  AB.M. 

(4TH  CENT.) 

[Greek  Menaea  and  Menology  of  Basil  Porphyrogenitus.  Modern 
Roman  Martyrology.  Authority  : — The  Lives  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Desert, 
aad  a  Hfe  by  Laurence,  monk  of  Ruti,  in  Greek.] 

3!HERE  seem  to  have  been  three  celebrated 
anchorites  of  the  Egyptian  deserts  of  the  name  of 
Moyses  or  Moses— Moyses  the  Egyptian,  Moyses 
the  Libyan,  and  another  of  the  same  name.  It 
is  not  always  possible  to  distinguish  to  which  of  these  three 
the  anecdotes  and  sayings  reported  by  Palladius  and 
Cassian  relate. 

Moyses  the  Ethiopian  was  a  gigantic  negro  slave  who 
had  escaped  from  his  master,  and  at  the  head  of  a  party  of 
ruffians  lived  on  pillage. 

One  instance  may  be  related  of  his  natural  strength  and 
ferocity.  A  shepherd  had  interfered  somehow  with  the 
execution  of  one  of  his  schemes  of  rapine  and  murder. 
Moyses,  bent  on  revenge,  seeing  the  shepherd  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Nile,  swam  across,  his  sword  between  his 
teeth,  to  kill  him.     The  shepherd  saw  him  coming,  and 


*- 


r 


August  28.] 


6'.  Moyses  the  Ethiopian.  349 


concealed  himself.  Moyses  then  killed  four  of  his  best 
rams,  tied  them  together  by  the  horns,  and  swam  back, 
drawing  them  after  him.  He  ate  one  of  them,  sold  the  rest, 
and  drank  the  proceeds. 

Accounts  differ  as  to  the  occasion  of  his  conversion. 
That  which  is  most  probably  the  right  one  is  that  he  was 
obliged  to  take  refuge  among  the  solitaries  to  escape  pursuit 
for  his  crimes,  and  that  he  was  won  by  the  example  of  the 
eremites.  He  went  to  a  lonely  cave  and  lived  there.  One 
night  four  robbers  broke  into  his  cell.  The  huge  negro 
wrestled  ^vith  them,  threw  them  down,  bound  them  together, 
and  dragged  them  to  the  door  of  the  monastery,  and 
delivered  them  up  to  the  monks  to  punish  as  they  thought 
fit.  For  many  years  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  con- 
quering his  furious  passions.  Almost  dfiven  to  despair,  he 
went  to  consult  the  Abbot  Isidore.  The  Abbot  led  him  to 
the  top  of  the  house  ;  it  was  dawn  :  dark  vapours  were  rolling 
away  to  the  West,  whilst  flakes  of  sunlit  clouds  strewed  the 
eastern  sky.  "•  See,"  said  Isidore,  "  as  the  light  comes  on 
the  darkness  flies  away,  not  all  at  once,  but  little  by  litde. 
So  is  it  with  your  soul." 

Moyses  was  satisfied,  and  returned  to  his  cell  to  see  the 
dawn  break  brighter  on  his  dark  spirit,  and  the  gloomy  and 
distorted  visions  of  night  disappear  one  by  one. 

After  some  years  he  was  ordained  priest.  When  vested 
in  white  the  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  Theophilus,  said  to 
him,  "  Now,  Moyses,  the  black  man  is  made  white." 

"  Only  the  outer  man,"  said  Moyses  ;  "the  inner  one  is 
dark  enough  still,  God  knows  ! " 

His  method  of  opposing  his  evil  imaginations  was  by 
giving  himself  up  to  active  exercise.  He  was  wont  to  visit 
the  cells  of  all  the  solitaries  of  advanced  age  and  delicate 
health  in  his  neighbourhood  during  the  night,  and  take  their 
pitchers,  fill  them  at  the  well,  and  bring  them  back. 


*- 


►  ■<- 


350 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  28. 


As  the  solitaries  lived  scattered  over  the  rocks,  this  was 
hard  work ;  he  had  to  carry  water  five  miles  for  one  or  two 
of  them. 

One  night  as  he  was  stooping  over  the  pool  filling  his 
pitcher,  he  was  doubled  up  with  a  sudden  attack  of  lumbago. 
He  thought  the  devil  had  given  him  a  sudden  stroke  across 
his  loins  with  a  club.*  He  lay  groaning  with  pain  till  next 
morning,  when  he  was  found  and  carried  to  the  church. 
The  attack  was  on  him  for  many  months,  so  as  totally  to 
incapacitate  him  for  work. 

The  governor  of  the  province  had  heard  of  the  virtues  of 
Moyses,  and  came  to  Scete  to  see  him.  Moyses  was  on 
his  way  to  the  well  to  fetch  water,  and  met  the  governor, 
who  asked  him  where  the  renowmed  anchorite  lived.  "  Bah ! " 
said  Moyses.  "  It  is  not  worth  your  while  going  in  quest 
of  him,  he  is  a  fool." 

The  governor  turned  back,  and  at  the  monastery  related 
what  he  had  heard.  "  What  was  the  man  like  who  said  that?" 
asked  the  monks. 

"  He  was  a  huge  old  black  fellow  covered  ^ath  rags." 

"  The  man  himself,"  answered  the  monks. 

It  is  probable  that  Moyses  was  killed  by  the  Bedouins. 

In  the  lives  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Desert,  we  are  told 
that  Moyses,  abbot  in  Scete,  hearing  that  these  nomads 
were  in  the  neighbourhood,  ordered  his  disciples  to  fly. 

"  But  you,  father,  what  will  you  do  ?" 

'*  Our  Lord  said.  They  who  take  the  sword  shall  perish 
by  the  sword.     His  word  %vill  come  true." 

Seven  of  the  disciples  refused  to  leave  the  old  man,  and 
were  killed  along  with  him  by  the  Bedouins.  It  is  most 
probable  that  this  Moyses  was  the  Ethiopian  abbot. 

'  The  ancient  Norsemen  and  Icelanders,  unable  to  comprehend  the  sudden  shooting 
pains  of  rheumatism,  attributed  them  to  elf-bolts,  invisible  arrows  shot  by  mountain 
spirits.  The  mediaeval  anchorites,  racked  by  rheumatism  in  their  damp  caves, 
attributed  them  to  the  cudgels  of  demons,  or  to  the  scourging  administered  to  them 
by  saint*. 


*- 


August  28.] 


S.  Augustijie.  3C1 


S.  AUGUSTINE,  B.D. 
(a.d.  430.) 

[Carthaginian  Kalendar  on  Aug.  29.  Ancient  and  Modern  Roman 
Martyrologies  on  Aug.  28.  From  the  life  of  S.  Caesarius  of  Aries  we  learn 
that  the  festival  of  S.  Augustine  was  observed  in  the  6th  cent,  in  Gaul.  All 
Latin  Martyrologies.  borne  commemorate  the  conversion  of  S.  Augustine 
on  May  17,  his  baptism  on  May  5,  the  translation  of  his  relics  by  the  Roman 
MartjTology  on  Feb.  28,  by  the  Augustinian  hermits  on  Oct.  11.  Other 
Martyrologies  give  commemorations  of  S.  Augustine  on  Jan.  24,  March  6 
April  I,  June  5.  By  Bull  of  I^o  X.  the  festival  of  S.  Augustine's  death, 
Aug.  28,  was  ordered  to  be  observed  with  the  same  honours  as  the  feast  of 
an  Apostle.  The  same  injunction  was  given  for  special  dioceses  by 
John  XXII.  and  Innocent  VIII.  ;  for  the  whole  of  Spain  by  Innocent  XI. 
Authorities  : — Augustine's  own  Confessions  for  his  early  life ;  a  Life  by 
S.  Possidius,  his  disciple  and  companion  for  forty  years ;  the  letters  and 
Other  writings  of  Augustine,  &c.] 

AuRELius  Augustine  was  born  at  Tagaste  in  Northern 
Africa,  on  the  Ides  of  November  (Nov.  13)  a.d.  354.  His 
father's  name  was  Patricius,  his  mother  was  the  holy  and 
gentle  Monica.  Patricius  was  a  choleric  man,  a  Pagan, 
but  upright  for  his  lights,  and  loving  his  wife  and  children. 
Augustine,  like  other  boys  full  of  animal  spirits,  was  not 
fond  of  books  \  as  for  Greek,  he  hated  it,  and  would  not  learn 
it.  "  I  perhaps  knew  that  *  okov '  did  not  mean  oue  but  a//, 
and  that  '  icadoXov,'  whence  the  Catholic  name  is  derived, 
meant  according  to  all."  In  after  years  he  was  obliged  to 
extend  his  knowledge  of  Greek. 

He  was  sent  early  to  Carthage,  and  there  learned  rhetoric. 
The  theatres,  racecourse,  and  amphitheatre  delighted  him,  and 
corrupted  the  simplicity  of  his  boyish  mind.  At  Carthage 
he  contracted  a  connexion  with  a  young  woman,  and  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  became  a  father. 

The  reading  of  Cicero's  Hortensius  excited  his  growing 
mind  to  the  study  of  philosophy.  Manichaeism  offered 
to  him  a  clear  system  of  belief,  a  solution  to  the 
mystery  of  the  universe,  to  that  greatest  of  all  mysteries, 


-1*1 


352  L  ives  of  the  Saints.  ^ August  ,8. 

the  co-existence  of  good  and  evil.  He  embraced  it,  and 
his  mind  was  so  saturated  with  its  tenets,  that  even  in  his 
after-life,  when  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith,  the  influence 
of  these  first  ideas  coloured  and  biased  his  theological  con- 
ceptions. But  he  found  that  the  Manichseans  were  great 
rather  in  pulling  to  pieces  the  religious  faith  of  others  than 
in  supporting  their  own  doctrines  with  satisfactory  proofs, 
and  what  especially  dissatisfied  him  was  the  contemptuous 
way  in  which  they  threw  doubt  on  the  historical  existence  of 
Christ.  They  were  prepared  to  celebrate  the  martyrdom  oi 
Manes,  but  took  no  notice  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Jesus  ;  "  For,"  said  they,  "  we  are  not  sure  that  these  events 
ever  occurred."  The  early  instructions  of  his  mother  were 
not  to  be  eradicated  by  a  light  breath  of  doubt  such  as  this. 
Faustus  of  Milevis,  an  eminent  Manichgean,  came  to  Car- 
thage. Augustine  listened  to  him  with  eagerness,  admitted 
his  eloquence,  but  was  dissatisfied  with  his  logic. 

In  an  unsettled  state  of  mind,  not  knowing  what  to 
believe,  he  devoted  himself  to  sestheticism,  and  wrote,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six,  on  "  The  Beautiful  and  the  Fitting." 

In  383  Augustine  went  to  Rome,  there  to  teach  rhetoric, 
against  his  mother's  advice.*  At  Rome  he  lived  with 
Manichees,  and  his  confidence  in  them  received  another 
shock.  He  had  been  attracted  by  the  asceticism  of  some 
of  the  "  Elect "  of  the  sect,  but  he  soon  found  that 
Manichasism  admitted  of  luxury  or  asceticism  with  easy 
indifference.  Each  was  compatible  with  its  fundamental 
doctrine.  Matter  is  evil,  spirit  is  good.  The  spirit  chained 
to  the  body  aspires  to  emancipation.  Flesh  and  spirit  are 
opposed  to  one  another,  ruled  by  different  laws,  under 
separate  lawgivers.  Some  Manichees  agreed  that  the  work 
of  life  was  the  emancipation  of  the  spirit  from  the  thraldom 

1  The  story  of  Monica  and  the  youth  of  Augustine  has  been  already  told  in  the  life 
of  the  mother  of  the  great  doctor  (May  4),  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  it  for  much 
that  is  omitted  here,  so  as  not  to  go  over  the  same  ground  twice. 


Aug.,  p.  332.] 


S.  AUGUSTINE.      After  Cahier. 


[Aug.  23. 


>i* ^ 

August  28.]  •5'.  Aiigusti7ie.  353 


*- 


of  the  body  by  crushing  out  the  lusts  of  the  flesh ;  but 
others  argued  that  the  spirit  was  not  bound  by  the  law  of 
the  body,  that  if  the  flesh  lusted,  the  soul  remained  undefiled, 
so  that  the  flesh  might  be  indulged  with  impunity  to  the  spirit. 
It  was  the  insufficiency  of  Manichaeism  to  supply  man  with 
an  ethical  code  which  finally  revolted  the  intellect  of  Augus- 
tine. He  saw  that  a  religion  to  be  a  true  one  must  establish 
morality  on  a  foundation  of  adamant.  Manichseism  failed 
to  do  this ;  therefore  he  was  alienated  from  it.  Augustine, 
in  after  years,  wrote  his  experiences  of  Manichaeism,^  expos- 
ing its  errors  and  the  immoraHty  of  its  "Elect."  The 
diatribes  of  a  convert  against  his  former  religion  and  co- 
religionists are  never  to  be  taken  without  a  pinch  of  salt, 
coloured  as  they  always  are  by  bitterness  and  injustice 
occasioned  by  the  consciousness  that  such  an  attack  is 
ungenerous  and  in  bad  taste.  Every  religion  is  the  groping 
of  ignorant  souls  after  light ;  its  errors  are  deserving  of 
compassion,  not  of  insulting  exposure  by  those  who  arro- 
gate to  themselves  superior  enlightenment. 

Having  shaken  himself  free  from  Manichseism,  Augustine 
joined  himself  to  the  Academicians ;  in  the  conflict  of 
philosophies  he  could  not  find  rest.  He  felt  like  a  man  in 
a  forest,  through  which  long  aisles  betwixt  tree  boles  led,  all 
offering  a  road,  and  all  leading  to  points  whence  radiated 
similar  long  passages  of  gloom  and  bewilderment.' 

From  Rome  he  went  to  Milan  in  384,  to  teach  rhetoric, 
and  there  fell  under  the  charm  of  the  presence  and  teaching 
of  S.  Ambrose.  Another,  a  softer,  even  a  hoHer  presence 
came  also  to  exert  its  influence  on  the  young  rhetorician. 
His  mother,  Monica,  unable  to  find  rest  for  her  aching 
heart  in  Africa,  took  ship,  and  came  to  Italy,  to  Milan, 
seeking  her  best-loved,  erring  son. 

His   fiiend  Alypius,   his  brother  Navigius,  and  his  son 

'  De  Moribus  Manichaorum.        '  ^  De  utilitate  credcndi,  c.  8. 

VOL.   TX.  i-r^ 


-^ 


»3& »J« 

354  Lives  of  the  Saints,  [Augustus. 


Adeodatus,  were  his  companions,  living  in  the  same  house. 
The  first  observable  effect  of  the  refining  presence  of 
Monica  on  the  young  men  was  that  they  gave  up  a  habit 
of  swearing  into  which  they  had  fallen.*  Monica  urged  him 
to  marry.  At  her  entreaty,  he  sent  back  the  woman  who 
had  so  long  lived  with  him,  to  Africa,  whence  he  had 
brought  her,  but  two  years  after  he  formed  another  similar 
connexion. 

All  this  while  he  was  not  happy.  His  soul  was  hungry 
for  bread,  and  nothing  satisfied  it.  He  had  tried  philoso- 
phies, and  they  did  not  give  him  what  he  wanted.  In 
pleasure,  in  ambition,  was  only  disappointment ;  and  hap- 
piness was  the  subject  of  endless  discussions  between  the 
friends  and  his  mother.  One  day  after  Augustine  had 
delivered  a  panegyric  on  the  Emperor,  full  of  suppression 
of  the  truth,  of  bombast,  and  exaggeration,  disgusted  with 
himself,  he  was  passing  through  a  street  with  his  com- 
panions, when  they  encountered  a  beggar  laughing  and 
lively.  "  There,"  said  Augustine  sadly,  "  that  poor  wretch 
is  happy,  and  has  got  what  I  cannot  attain  to." 

He  read  Plato  in  a  Latin  translation,  and  Plato  seemed 
to  him  to  point  to  Christ.  The  great  mystery  of  evil  was  to 
him  for  long  insoluble.  He  thought  to  deny  the  existence 
of  evil,  to  hold  all  things  to  be  good,  what  we  think  to  be 
evils  to  be  but  minor  goods.  Yet  this  theory,  so  plausible 
on  paper,  is  a  poor  one  to  act  upon  in  life.  The  wrongs, 
the  agonies,  the  sins  of  life  will  not  square  with  the  theory 
in  our  consciences.  Augustine  could  not  hold  it  seriously 
for  long.  He  consulted  S.  SimpUcian,  who  afterwards  suc- 
ceeded Ambrose  on  the  episcopal  throne  of  Milan,  and  by 
degrees  his  objections  to  Christian  doctrires  melted  away. 
Yet  his  head  only  was  enlightened  ;  his  heart  was  not 
touched.      He   attended   church  with   his   bosom    friend, 

^  Senn.  xxviii 


-* 


August  28.] 


S.  Atcgtistme.  355 


Alypius,  listened  to  the  discourses  of  Ambrose,  and  began 
to  read  the  sacred  Scriptures.  An  African  named  Pontitian, 
an  officer  in  the  Imperial  palace,  called  one  day  at  the  house 
of  Augustine,  and  sitting  down  at  the  table  drew  towards 
him  a  scroll  Augustine  had  been  reading,  and  looked  at  it. 
It  was  one  of  the  Epistles  of  S.  Paul,  The  New  Testament 
writers  had  interested  Augustine  and  convinced  him  of  the 
truths  of  Christianity ;  but  something  else,  greater,  was 
wanted  to  touch  and  conquer  his  heart — the  evidence  of 
Christian  truth,  living,  moving,  ruling  sovereign  over  human 
souls.  This  was  what  Pontitian  was  about  unconsciously  to 
supply. 

What  follows  must  be  given  in  the  words  of  Augustine 
himself : — 

"  When  I  told  him  I  was  giving  attention  to  these 
writings,  we  began  to  talk,  and  he  to  tell  of  Antony,  the 
monk  of  Egypt,  whose  name  was  then  very  famous  among 
thy  servants,*  but  was  unknown  to  us  till  that  moment. 
When  he  discovered  that,  he  spent  some  time  over  the  sub- 
ject, detailing  his  virtues,  and  wondering  at  our  ignorance. 
We  were  astounded  at  hearing  such  well-attested  marvels 
of  him,  so  recent  and  almost  contemporaneous,  wrought  in 
the  right  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church.  We  all  wondered  : 
we,  that  they  were  so  great ;  and  he,  that  we  had  not  heard 
of  them.  Thence  his  discourse  ran  on  to  those  flocks  of 
hermit-cells,  and  the  morals  of  thy  sweetness,  and  the  fruit- 
ful deserts  of  the  wilderness,  of  which  we  knew  nought. 
There  was  a  monastery,  too,  at  Milan,  full  of  good  brethren, 
outside  the  city  walls,  under  the  tutelage  of  Ambrosius, 
and  we  knew  nothing  of  it.  He  went  on  still  speaking,  and 
we  listened  intently ;  and  it  befell  that  he  told  us  how,  I 
know  not  when,  he  and  three  of  his  mess  companions  at 
Treves,  while  the  Emperor  was  engaged  in  an  afternoon 

'  He  is  addressing  our  Lord. 

23—2 


* 


>J( -»J( 

356  L  ives  of  the  Saints.  j^ugust  .8 

Bpectacle  in  the  circus,  went  out  for  a  walk  in  the  gardens 
round  the  walls ;  and  as  they  walked  there  in  pairs,  one 
with  him  alone,  and  the  two  others  by  themselves,  they 
parted.  And  those  two,  straying  about,  burst  into  a  cot- 
tage, where  dwelt  certain  servants  of  thine,  poor  in  spirit, 
of  such  as  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  there  found  a 
book,  in  which  was  written  the  life  of  Antony.  One  of 
them  began  to  read  it,  and  to  wonder,  and  to  be  warmed  ; 
and,  as  he  read,  to  think  of  taking  up  such  a  life,  and 
leaving  the  warfare  of  this  world  to  serve  thee.  Now,  he 
was  one  of  those  whom  they  call  Managers  of  Affairs. 
Then,  suddenly  filled  with  holy  love  and  sober  shame, 
angered  at  himself,  he  cast  his  eyes  on  his  friend,  and  said, 
'  Tell  me,  prithee,  with  all  these  labours  of  ours,  whither  are 
we  trying  to  get  ?  What  are  we  seeking  ?  For  what  are  we 
soldiering?  Can  we  have  a  higher  hope  in  the  palace, 
than  to  become  friends  of  the  Emperor?  And  when  there, 
what  is  not  frail  and  full  of  dangers  ?  And  through  how 
many  dangers  we  do  not  arrive  at  a  greater  danger  still  ? 
And  how  long  will  that  last  ?  But  if  I  choose  to  become  a 
friend  of  God,  I  can  do  it  here  and  now.'  He  spoke  thus, 
and,  swelling  in  the  labour-pangs  of  a  new  life,  he  fixed  his 
eyes  again  on  the  pages,  and  read,  and  was  changed  in- 
wardly as  thou  lookedst  on  him,  and  his  mind  was  stripped 
of  the  world,  as  soon  appeared.  For  while  he  read,  and 
rolled  over  the  billows  of  his  soul,  he  shuddered  and  hesi- 
tated from  time  to  time,  and  resolved  better  things  ;  and 
already  thine,  he  said  to  his  friend,  *  I  have  already  torn 
myself  from  that  hope  of  ours,  and  have  settled  to  serve 
God  ;  and  this  I  begin  from  this  hour  in  this  very  place. 
If  you  do  not  like  to  imitate  me,  do  not  oppose  me.'  He 
replied  that  he  would  cling  to  his  companion  in  such  a  great 
service  and  so  great  a  warfare.  And  both,  now  thine, 
began  building,  at  their  own  cost,  the  tower  of  leaving  all 

— ~ * 


^- 


* 


August  28.] 


kS".  Augustine.  357 


things  and  following  thee.  Then  Potitianus,  and  the  man 
who  was  talking  with  him  elsewhere  in  the  garden,  seeking 
them,  came  to  the  same  place,  and  warned  them  to  return, 
as  the  sun  was  getting  low.  They,  however,  told  their 
resolution,  and  how  it  had  sprung  up  and  taken  strong  hold 
in  them,  and  entreated  the  others  not  to  give  them  pain. 
They,  not  altered  from  their  former  mode  of  life,  yet  wept 
(as  he  told  us)  for  themselves;  and  congratulated  them 
piously,  and  commended  themselves  to  their  prayers ;  and 
then  dragging  their  hearts  along  the  earth,  went  back  to  the 
palace.  But  the  others,  fixing  their  hearts  on  heaven, 
remained  in  the  cottage.  And  both  of  them  had  affianced 
brides,  who,  when  they  heard  this,  dedicated  their  virginity 
to  thee." ' 

This  story  shook  the  soul  of  Augustine  to  its  foundation. 
The  Gospel  was  not  a  mere  historic  narrative,  Christianity 
not  one  theory  of  man's  relation  to  God  among  many,  Jesus 
Christ  not  a  founder  of  a  system  only :  the  Gospel,  Chris- 
tianity, Jesus  Christ,  were  living  powers,  to-day  as  mighty  as 
three  hundred  years  ago.  Jesus  Christ,  lifted  up,  was 
drawing  souls  to  him  by  the  mighty  attraction  of  love.  He 
had  known  Manichaeans  live  holy  lives  for  a  system ;  here 
was  the  man  Jesus,  "alive  for  evermore,"  calling  to  him, 
holding  fast  the  passionate  hearts  of  men  in  self-forgetting 
love.  Here  was  Christianity  promising  to  spread  the  salt 
over  the  dead  and  rotting  old  world,  and  arrest  its  putrefac- 
tion ;  the  Gospel  promising  happiness,  and  men  proclaiming 
that  the  promise  was  true,  they  had  found  happiness,  they 
enjoyed  it,  under  its  peaceful  prescriptions. 

Augustine  remained  silent,  red  with  shame,  as  he  con- 
sidered his  past  life,  weighed  down  with  sorrow,  lost  in 
thought.  Pontitian  saw  that  his  words  had  wrought  an  un- 
expected effect.     He  rose,  and  silently  went  his  way. 

'  Confessions,  c.  i6. 

f 

^ — qf 


.J« * 

358  L ives  of  the  Saints,  fAugust  ,8. 


Augustine  could  not  endure  to  be  in  the  house.  It 
suffocated  him.  He  started  up  to  go  into  the  garden.  His 
friend  Alypius  followed  him,  bringing  in  his  hand  the  roll 
which  Augustine  had  been  reading  before  Pontitian  called. 
The)'  sat  down  together  in  an  arbour. 

The  agitation  of  Augustine's  soul  continued.  It  strained 
with  inexpressible  yearning  for  the  pure,  blessed  life  of  those 
holy  ones  in  the  desert  of  whom  he  had  heard,  but  his  love 
of  pleasure,  his  animal  lusts,  his  ambition,  the  recollection 
of  his  many  ties  in  Milan  which  would  have  to  be  broken, 
restrained  him.  Could  he  break  off  his  connexion  with  that 
woman,  give  up  the  merry  banquets,  the  carelessness  of  his 
present  life  for  one  of  strict  self-discipline  ?  His  soul  was 
travaihng.  He  could  not  bear  the  presence  of  Alypius  near 
him,  with  kind  hand  clasping  his.  He  started  up  and  left 
the  bower,  scarcely  knowing  where  he  Avent,  except  that  it 
was  as  far  from  the  house  as  possible.  He  came  to  a  fig  tree, 
and  flung  himself  down  on  the  turf  under  its  shade. 

Then  without  restraint  he  gave  vent  to  his  emotion  ;  the 
tears  streamed  from  his  eyes  upon  the  grass,  and  his  breast 
shook  with  sobs. 

At  that  moment  he  heard  a  child's  voice  singing,  "  Take 
up  and  read  !  Take  up  and  read  !"  The  voice  of  a  little 
boy  or  little  girl.  It  was  the  refrain,  perhaps,  of  some 
child's  game.^ 

He  rose  from  his  prostrate  position  at  the  roots  of  the 
fig  tree.  At  such  moments  any  small  incident  affects  us, 
assumes  an  importance,  a  significance  we  should  not  accord 
it  at  another.  Might  not  that  little  child's  chant  be  addressed 
by  the  voice  of  innocence  to  his  shaken  soul  ?  Surely  so. 
Did  not  Antony,  of  whom  he  had  just  heard,  learn  what 
was  to  be  the  rule  of  his  life,  when  he  went  into  the  church 

I  "  Cogitare  ccepi,  utrumnam  solerent  pueri  in  aliquo  genere  ludendi  cantare  tale 
allquid." 

* -* 


^ 15, 

Augustus.]  S.  Augustine.  359 

and  heard  the  words  of  the  Gospel  read,  "  Sell  all  that  thou 
hast  and  come  and  follow  me?" 

With  tottering  steps  Augustine  returned  to  the  bower 
where  he  had  left  Alypius,  and  opening  the  scroll,  his  eyes 
fell  on  the  words,  "  Not  in  rioting  and  dnmkenness,  not  in 
chambering  and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying,  but 
put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision 
for  the  flesh  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof"  (Rom.  xiii.  13).  He 
read  no  more,  but  putting  a  mark  in  the  place,  he  closed 
the  book  and  handed  it  to  Alypius.  His  friend  asked  to 
see  what  the  words  were  which  had  so  struck  him,  and 
Augustine  bade  him  look.  Alypius  read  on,  "  Him  that  is 
weak  in  the  faith  receive  ye,  but  not  to  doubtful  disputa- 
tions," and  applied  it  to  the  conduct  of  Augustine  in  this 
most  eventful  period  of  his  life. 

Then  Augustine's  heart  yearned  to  tell  all  to  the  dear 
mother  who  with  perfect  patience  and  trust  in  God  had 
prayed  without  wearying  for  her  son  from  childhood,  hoping 
against  hope.  He  found  her,  and  told  her  what  had  befallen 
his  soul.  "  She  rejoiced  and  triumphed,"  says  Augustine 
in  his  Confessions.  "  She  blessed  Thee,  Who  art  powerful 
to  give  more  than  we  ask  or  know  how  to  ask  ;  for  she  saw 
that  Thou  hadst  given  to  me  more  than  she  had  ventured 
to  pray  for  with  many  bitter  tears  and  mournful  sighs. 
Thou  didst  convert  me  to  Thee  so  that  I  cared  no  more 
for  wife  or  anything  this  world  could  afford,  and  Thou 
didst  convert  her  sorrow  into  joy  fuller  than  she  had  looked 
for." 

Augustine  at  once  threw  up  his  lectureship  on  rhetoric 
and  returned  to  a  villa  near  Milan  lent  by  a  friend,  Verc- 
cundus,  that  he  might  prepare  for  baptism.  It  was  a 
happy,  peaceful  time.  Monica  was  there,  now  one  in  heart 
and  hope  with  her  son,  seeing  the  travail  of  her  soul,  and 
satisfied.    Alypius  was  there  also,  a  catechumen,  a  good, 

^ 


^- 


-* 


360  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  38. 


truth-seeking,  pure-minded  man.  Nebridius  visited  them  ; 
he  too  was  turning  to  the  hght,  a  man  of  unspotted  life, 
who,  though  reared  in  Paganism,  had  Hved  as  clean  and 
God-fearing  a  life  as  any  Christian.  He  also,  somewhat 
later,  was  baptized,  and  died  a  holy  life,  still  in  his  youth. 
In  the  evenings,  under  the  stars,  when  the  heat  of  day  was 
past,  that  happy  company  assembled  under  the  trees.  The 
fireflies  sailed  past  them,  or  wavered  their  lamps  over  them, 
then  went  out,  like  the  wandering  fires  of  earthly  passion 
and  pride  and  ambition,  whilst  above  burned  the  changeless 
stars,  types  of  those  heavenly  lights  to  which  out  of  their 
darkness  these  earnest  hearts  were  aspiring.  There  they 
read  and  learned  by  heart  and  applied  to  their  own  souls 
the  Psalms  of  David,  ancient  words  never  old,  always 
speaking  the  hopes,  the  joys,  the  sorrows,  the  aspirations  of 
human  hearts.  But  Augustine  was  suftering  from  toothache. 
"  What  a  pain  it  is  !"  he  exclaims  ;  he  could  not  sleep, 
meditate,  eat,  speak.  So  he  wrote  on  his  wax  tablet  what 
was  aflflicting  him  and  showed  it  to  his  friends.  Then  they 
all  fell  to  prayer  together  in  childish  simplicity  and  good 
faith,  and  Augustine  recovered  from  the  pain. 

On  Easter  Eve,  April  25,  387,  he  was  baptized  by  S. 
Ambrose  at  Milan.  Alypius  was  baptized  with  him,  and 
Augustine's  son  Adeodatus.  The  father's  tenderness  breaks 
out  again  and  again  when  speaking  of  his  boy.  "  Thou,  O 
God,  hast  well  made  him.  He  was  about  fifteen  years  old, 
and  in  intellect  surpassed  many  grave  and  learned  men.  I 
confess  Thy  gifts,  O  Lord,  my  God,  Creator  of  all,  mighty  to 
reform  our  deformities.  I  had  nothing  in  that  boy  but  my 
sin.  What  he  learned  of  us  in  Thy  discipline  Thou  didst 
inspire  into  us.  Thou  only." 

After  the  series  of  lessons  usual  on  Holy  Saturday,  the 
Great  Sabbath,  Augustine  and  his  son  Adeodatus,  with 
Alypius,  were  led  to  the  font,  where  a  priest  and  a  deacon 
attended   on   S.   Ambrose.     With   faces  turned  westward. 


*- 


August  28.] 


kS.  Augustine.  361 


they  renounced  "  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the  world,  its 
luxury,  its  pleasures  ;"  and  then  turned  eastward  in  recogni- 
tion of  Christ. 

Ambrose  then  performed  the  benediction  of  the  font;  each 
candidate  descended  into  it,  was  asked,  ''  Dost  thou  believe 
in  God  the  Father  Almighty  ?"  answered,  "  I  believe,"  and 
was  immersed  in  the  water ;  professed  in  like  manner  his 
faith  "in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Cross,  and  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  and  was  immersed  a  second  and  third  time.* 
Ambrose  then  anointed  the  head  of  each  with  consecrated 
oil,  and  a  prayer  that  this  might  be  unto  life  eternal. 

Their  feet  were  washed — a  Milanese  usage  not  followed 
in  Rome — in  token  that  they  were  to  walk  in  newness 
of  life,  they  put  on  white  raiment,  and  then  they  received 
"  the  spiritual  seal"  whereby  "  Christ  confirmed"  them,' 
and  were  led  in  procession  up  the  church,  chanting  the 
forty-second  Psalm  (A.V.  xllii.),  as  introit  before  their  com- 
munion :  "  O  send  out  thy  light  and  thy  truth,  that  they 
may  lead  me  :  and  bring  me  unto  thy  holy  hill,  and  to  thy 
dwelling.  And  that  I  may  go  unto  the  altar  of  God,  even 
unto  the  God  of  my  joy  and  gladness." 

They  saw  the  altar  in  its  fair  array,'  with  lamps  burning 
around  it,  decked  for  the  Easter  Communion  ;  and  were  at 
once  admitted  to  the  highest  privileges  of  the  Church.  In 
after  time  it  was  said  that  on  this  occasion  from  the 
swelling  breasts  of  Ambrose  and  Augustine  sprang  that 
inspired  triumph  song,  the  Te  Deum. 

The  chronicle  of  Dacius  of  Milan,  which  is  claimed  as 
authority  for  this  incident,  never  existed  ;  the  tradition,  a 
very  ancient  one,  may  however  rest  on  a  foundation  of 
truth.  Augustine  and  Ambrose  together  may  have  com- 
posed this  hymn  shortly  after. 

'  Ambros.  de  Myst.  28,  written  probably  about  this  time. 
'  De  Myst.  42.     Chrism  Is  not  mentioned,  but   was  probably  applied  to  the  fore- 
head :  the  former  anointing  appears  to  have  been  a  distinct  rite. 

*  De  Myst.  4'?. 

^ — ►!< 


362  Lives  of  the  Saints.  rAugust  ^s. 

"  In  those  days  when  we  had  been  baptized,"  he  says, 
**  I  was  not  satisfied  with  the  marvellous  sweetness,  with 
musing  on  the  greatness  of  Thy  counsel  for  the  salvation  of 
the  race  of  man.  O  !  how  I  went  over  the  hymns  and 
canticles,  shaken  to  the  depths  with  the  voices  of  Thy 
Church  so  sweetly  sounding  !  Those  notes  flowed  in  at 
my  ears,  and  Thy  truth  revealed  itself  in  my  heart,  and  there 
glowed  within  me  a  burning  piety  ;  my  eyes  streamed  with 
tears.     It  was  well  for  me  to  be  there  !" 

But  this  ineffable  joy  was  broken  in  upon  by  external 
affairs  j  for 

"  Storms  confused  above  us  lower, 

Of  hope  and  fear,  and  joy  and  woe  ; 
And  scarcely  even  for  one  half-hour 
Is  silence  in  God's  house  below." 

Justina,  mother  of  the  boy-Emperor  Valentinian,  viewed 
with  hostility  the  popularity  of  Ambrose,  and  encouraged 
an  Arian  bishop,  Auxentius,  to  claim  the  throne  of  Milan. 
Ambrose  was  called  on  to  plead  against  him  in  the  imperial 
consistory.  He  refused.  The  sovereign,  he  said,  was 
young  and  unbaptized  ;  one  day  he  v,ould  see  the  absurdity 
of  asking  a  bishop  to  "place  his  rights  at  the  feet  of  laymen." 

Ambrose  took  refuge  in  the  church,  the  faithful  crowded 
into  it,  around  him  ;  Monica  was  there,  probably  also 
Augustine  and  Alypius.  The  faithful  throng  stood  between 
him  and  the  soldiers.  To  calm  the  agitation  of  the  people, 
Ambrose  set  them  to  sing  hymns  which  he  had  ^vritten,  full 
of  terse  and  condensed  energy,  and  to  chant  the  Psalms 
antiphonally,  "  after  the  manner  of  the  East."* 

He  knew  "  how  mighty  a  strain  "  was  the  doxology  to 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  which  "  made  all  who  sang  it 

•  "Tunc  hymni  et  psalini  \\t  canerentur,  secundum  moremOrientalium  paitium,  ne 
populus  moeroris  taedio  contabesceret,  institutumest ;  et  ex  illo  in  hodiernum  reteiitum, 
muUisjam  aq  naene  omnibus  gregibus  tuis  et  per  cetera  orbis  imitantibus." — Cottf. 

>J< >i< 


* 


August  28.] 


S.  Augtisit7ie.  363 


teachers."  The  soldiers  were  withdrawn,  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  people  was  too  mighty  for  Justina  to  overcome. 

It  was  now  resolved  by  Augustine,  his  friend  and  his 
mother,  to  return  to  Africa,  and  there  to  form  a  religious 
household.  S.  Monica,  in  the  fulness  of  her  joy,  acted  both 
as  mother  and  as  servant  to  them  all.  She  went  with 
them  to  Ostia,  where  they  prepared  for  the  homeward 
voyage.  One  day  she  and  Augustine  were  leaning  against 
a  window  of  the  house  where  they  lodged,  and  talking  of 
the  future  blessedness,  "  what  it  must  be  to  enter  into  God's 
very  presence  after  the  resurrection."  Then  she  told  him 
that  as  all  her  hopes  for  this  world  were  fulfilled,  she  desired 
to  live  no  longer.  In  a  few  days  she  was  seized  with  a 
fatal  illness,  and  calmly  expired  about  a  week  afterwards. 
Her  grandson's  loud  weeping  was  hushed  by  a  scruple  on 
Augustine's  part  against  any  such  display  of  sorrow.  It  was 
well  with  her,  she  was  with  her  Lord.  They  chanted  the 
loist  Psalm  (A.V.  cii.),  performed  the  burial,  and  had  mass 
said  for  the  repose  of  her  soul,  "  The  sacrifice  of  our  ransom 
was  offered  for  her." 

At  length  the  long-restrained  feeling  found  relief,  and 
Augustine  burst  into  tears,  though  not  without  appre- 
hension that  men,  if  they  knew  it,  would  judge  him  hardly. 

He  deferred  his  voyage  for  the  present,  and  settled  at 
Rome. 

"  Inspire,  O  Lord  God,  Thy  servants,  my  brethren," 
prays  Augustine,  "  and  Thy  sons  my  lords,  whom  with  voice 
and  heart  and  pen  I  serve,  and  all  who  may  read  this,  to 
remember  at  the  altar  Monica  thy  handmaid,  and  Patricius 
her  husband,  through  whom  I  .ms  brought  into  the 
world." 

At  this  point  breaks  off  that  most  touching  and  precious 
record  of  the  early  years  of  Augustine,  his  Confessions,  and 
we  are  condemned  to  complete  his  history  from  the  biograpiiy 


*- 


-* 


3^4  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  -A 


of  Posidius  and  incidental  allusions  in  his  epistles  and 
sermons  and  controversial  writings. 

In  388,  Augustine  was  at  Rome,  and  there  he  wrote  his 
work  on  the  Morals  of  the  Manichees,  and  began  one  on 
Free  Will.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year  he  returned  to 
Africa,  from  which  he  had  been  absent  over  five  years,  and 
retiring  to  Tagaste  with  his  friend  Alypius,  they  led  together 
a  religious  life,  till  a.d.  391,  reading  and  writing  on  Music, 
on  True  Religion,  and  controversially  against  the  Manichees. 

In  391,  against  his  will,  he  was  withdrawn  from  his  place 
of  retreat,  and  ordained  priest  by  Valerius,  Bishop  of  Hippo. 
He  at  once  sought  to  form  a  monastery  in  Hippo,  where  he 
might  live  with  his  brethren. 

Valerius  was  not  able  to  speak  Latin,  and  was  therefore 
unable  to  preach  to  the  Latin-speaking  community  at 
Hippo.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  he  had  ordained 
Augustine,  to  use  him  as  his  mouthpiece  to  his  flock.  The 
fame  of  Augustine  as  a  rhetorician,  as  a  wi-iter,  as  a  disciple 
of  Ambrose,  was  sufficient  to  make  it  probable  that  he 
would  serve  the  purpose  of  Valerius  admirably.  And,  in 
fact,  Augustine  was  at  once  commissioned  to  preach  in  the 
Cathedral.  This  was  an  innovation.  Hitherto  only  bishops 
had  preached,  and  the  neighbouring  prelates  murmured  at 
Valerius  introducing  this  change  without  the  sanction  of  a 
synod.  But  Valerius  explained  to  them  that  in  the  East  it 
was  customary  for  priests  to  preach,  and  so  silenced  their 
objections.  After  this  the  custom  spread  in  the  African 
Church,  and  many  priests  received  licences  to  preach  to  their 
congregations,  even  in  presence  of  the  bishops.  But  Valerius 
seems  not  only  to  have  committed  to  Augustine  the  duty 
of  preaching,  but  also  a  great  part  of  the  regulation  and 
government  of  his  diocese.  He  wrote  against  the  Manichees 
and  Donatists,  and  held  public  controversy  with  the  former. 

A  scandalous  custom  had  grown  up  in  the  African  churches 


-* 


August  .8.]  ^-  Augustine.  365 

somewhat  similar  to  that  reprimanded  by  S.  Paul  at  Corinth. 
In  the  primitive  Church  it  was  customary  for  the  rich  to  give 
banquets  to  the  poor ;  these  were  the  Agapae  or  love  feasts. 
They  were  generally  given  in  connexion  with  the  Eucharist, 
as  thank-offerings  to  God  in  the  person  of  his  poor  for  the 
benefits  He  conferred  on  the  communicants.  But  in  the 
Corinthian  Church  these  love  feasts  became  disorderly  revels. 
They  were  speedily  aboUshed  in  the  Catholic  Church,  or  so 
modified  as  to  be  unobjectionable.  The  ofi:ertory  at  Com- 
munion has  taken  its  place.  Gifts  of  money  are  made  to  be 
distributed  among  the  needy,  instead  of  spreading  for  them 
a  table,  or,  as  in  the  Gallican  Church,  the  pain  benit  is  pre- 
sented by  the  charitable,  blessed  by  the  priest,  and  distri- 
buted to  non-communicants  throughout  the  church.  In 
Africa  these  feasts  lingered  on  longer  than  elsewhere.  They 
took  place  on  the  eves  of  saints'  days,  in  the  church,  wine 
was  drunk  in  abundance,  and  distressingly  sacrilegious  scenes 
were  the  consequence. 

Augustine,  still  only  a  priest,  exerted  himself  to  abolish 
this  custom  in  the  diocese  of  Hippo,  and  he  wrote  to  Aure- 
lius,  the  newly  elected  Bishop  of  Carthage,  on  tlie  subject, 
A.D.  392.  Probably  owing  to  his  representations,  a  canon 
was  drawn  up  by  the  Carthaginian  Church  forbidding  these 
feasts  for  the  future.^ 

Valerius  was  very  old,  and  utterly  incapacitated  for  discharg- 
ing his  episcopal  duties.  He  had  set  his  heart  on  having 
Augustine  for  his  successor.  He  therefore  obtained  the  con- 
sent of  the  corn-provincial  bishops  to  the  elevation  of  Augus- 
tine to  the  episcopate,  to  act  as  his  coadjutor  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  and  to  be  his  successor  on  his  death, 
should  the  clergy  and  people  of  Hippo  elect  him.  The  date 
of  his  consecration  cannot  be  fixed  with  certainty,  but  it  was 

*  A  mild  form  of  this  abuse  had  been  habitual  with  such  pious  persons  as 
S.  Monica  ;  but  when  at  Milan  she  had  visited  the  churches  with  small  baskets 
of  food  and  wine,  she  was  told  that  the  practice  was  forbidden  by  S.  Ambrose. 

»f( — 


-* 


366 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  2& 


probably  in  a.d.  395,  when  he  was  forty-one.  That  the 
appointment  of  a  coadjutor  bishop  was  inconsistent  with  the 
literal  sense  of  the  eighth  Nicene  canon,  neither  he  nor  Vale- 
rius was  aware.  In  after  years  he  regretted  that  he  had  invo- 
luntarily allowed  himself  to  transgress  the  canon.  His  deep 
sense  of  episcopal  responsibilities  is  expressed  in  his  sermons 
and  epistles  written  at  this  time,  by  repeated  references  to 
the  burden  laid  upon  him,  and  by  entreaties  for  the  prayers 
as  well  as  the  obedience  of  his  flock. 

The  rebellion  of  Gildo  the  Moor  in  398  gave  boldness 
and  power  to  the  Donatists  to  afflict  the  Catholic  Chnrch  in 
Africa. 

Gildo,  brother  of  the  tyrant  Firmus,  had  amassed  an  enor- 
mous patrimony ;  long  and  meritorious  service  in  the  armies 
of  Rome  had  given  him  the  title  of  military  count ;  and 
Theodosius  had  invested  him  with  the  government  of  Africa. 
His  ambition  soon  usurped  the  administration  of  justice, 
and  of  the  finances,  without  account,  and  without  control, 
and  he  maintained  for  twelve  years  absolute  possession  of 
an  office  from  which  the  feeble  Honorius  could  not,  dared 
not,  remove  him.  During  those  twelve  years  the  province 
of  Africa  groaned  under  the  intolerable  despotism  of  a 
capricious  tyrant,  ruling  without  law,  uniting  in  his  govern- 
ment the  unfeeling  temper  of  a  stranger  with  the  partial  re- 
sentments of  domestic  faction.  Donatism  was  a  constant 
thorn  in  the  side  of  Augustine,  he  combated  it  with  not  less 
vigour  than  he  displayed  against  Manichseism.  But  Dona- 
tism was  a  schism  rather  than  a  heresy.  It  originated  in  a 
disputed  appointment  to  the  episcopal  dignity  at  Carthage. 

Mensurinus,  Bishop  of  Carthage,  was  accused  of  having 
dealt  too  gently  with  the  Traditors,  those  who,  in  the  perse- 
cution of  Diocletian,  had  delivered  up  the  sacred  books  and 
vessels  to  escape  martyrdom.  Mensurinus  was  summoned  to 
Rome  on  a  political  charge.     On  his  departure  he  entrusted 


*- 


-* 


* 1^ 

August  .8.1  S.  Atigustine.  367 

to  the  deacons  of  Carthage  the  sacred  vessels  of  his  church. 
He  died  on  his  way  back.  CseciHan,  a  deacon,  was  raised 
by  the  unanimous  suffrages  of  the  clergy  and  people  to  the 
vacant  see.  He  was  consecrated  by  Felix,  Bishop  of 
Aptunga.  The  deacons  in  charge  of  the  sacred  vessels  re- 
fused to  deliver  them  up.  They  were  jealous  of  Csecilian, 
and  pretended  that  Felix,  his  consecrator,  had  been  a  Tra- 
ditor.  Donatus,  Bishop  of  Casae  Nigrae,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  malcontents.  His  commanding  mind 
swayed  the  countless  hierarchy  which  crowded  the  different 
provinces  of  Africa.  The  Numidian  bishops  took  the  lead, 
and  at  the  summons  of  Donatus  appeared  in  Carthage  to 
the  number  of  seventy,  to  cite  Csecilian  and  declare  him 
contumacious,  and  his  election  void.  Majorinus  was  ap- 
pointed by  them  to  the  Carthaginian  see.  Both  parties 
appealed  to  the  civil  power  ;  and  Anulinus,  Prefect  of  Africa, 
who  during  the  reign  of  Diocletian  had  sent  martyrs  to  their 
crown  with  unsparing  hand,  was  surprised  to  see  the  Chris- 
tians crowding  in  hostile  factions  to  demand  his  interference 
in  their  domestic  discords.  The  schism  continued  in  defi- 
ance of  imperial  rescripts  and  the  decision  of  councils. 
Persecution  embittered  and  intensified  the  opposition  of  the 
Donatists.  This  first  development  of  the  principle  of  Chris- 
tian sectarianism  was  as  stern,  as  inflexible,  and  as  per- 
severing as  in  later  times.  The  Donatists  drew  their 
narrow  pale  round  their  persecuted  sect,  and  asserted  them- 
selves to  be  the  only  elect  people  of  Christ ;  the  only  people 
whose  clergy  could  claim  an  unbroken  apostolic  succession, 
vitiated  in  all  other  communities  of  Christians  by  the  inex- 
piable crime  of  Tradition.  Wherever  they  obtained  pos- 
session of  a  church  they  burned  the  altar ;  or,  when  wood 
was  scarce,  scraped  off  the  infection  of  heretical  communion  ; 
they  melted  the  chalices,  and  sold,  it  was  asserted,  the  sanc- 
tified metal  for  profane  use* ;  they  rebaptized  all  who  joined 

* * 


^68  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 

their  sect ;  they  would  not  even  permit  the  bodies  of  the 
Catholics  to  repose  in  peace,  lest  they  should  pollute  the 
common  cemeteries.  Their  counterpart  in  Europe  is  perhaps 
to  be  found  in  the  Rascolniks  of  Russia.  But  in  Russia  a 
gentle  forbearance  with  narrow  bigotry  about  trifles,  a  lo\nng 
spirit  of  conciliation,  is  daily  healing  the  old  wound  and 
drawing  schismatics  from  their  prejudice.  In  Africa  another 
course  was  adopted.  The  Catholics  appealed  to  the  im- 
perial arm  to  torment  and  crash  their  opponents,  and  the 
result  was  that  bitterness  and  vitality  was  given  to  the  schism. 
The  implacable  faction  darkened  into  a  sanguinary  feud. 
For  the  first  time  human  blood  was  shed  in  conflicts  between 
the  followers  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Each  party  recrimi- 
nated on  the  other,  but  neither  denies  the  barbarous  scenes 
of  massacre  and  licence  which  devasted  the  African  cities 
The  Donatists  boasted  of  their  martyrs,  and  the  cruelties  of 
the  Catholic  party  rest  on  their  own  admission  :  they  deny 
not,  they  proudly  vindicate  their  barbarities — "  Is  the  ven- 
geance of  God  to  be  defrauded  of  its  victims  ?"  ^ — and  they 
appeal  to  the  Old  Testament  to  justify,  by  the  examples  of 
Moses,  of  Phineas,  and  of  Elijah,  the  Christian  duty  of  slay- 
ing by  thousands  the  renegades  or  the  unbelievers. 

Augustine,  in  his  calmer  mood,  saw  the  evil  of  using  con- 
straint. "  My  opinion  at  first  was  that  no  one  should  be 
compelled  to  the  unity  of  Christ ;  he  must  be  won  by  the 
word,  convinced  by  argument,  satisfied  by  reasons,  lest  we 
.  should  have  disguised  Catholics  instead  of  open  heretics."^ 
\v'hen  in  power,  with  the  imperial  authority  at  his  back,  the 
temptation  was  too  strong  for  him  not  to  retract  this  wise 
opinion,  and  to  call  force  in  to  constrain  his  adversaries. 
But  he  had  not  experience  to  teach  him  the  grievous  error 
he  committed.  The  stake  and  the  sword  drove  the  Me- 
diaeval Manichees  or  Patarines  to  take  repose  under  the 

'  Optatus  of  Milevis.                                              *  Ep.  xlviiL 
* 


^ — ^ 

August  ,8.]  ^-  Augtistine.  369 

cowl  of  S.  Francis.  The  Minorite  Order  was  nearly  ruined 
thereby,  the  Fraticelli  proved  more  dangerous  to  morals  and 
sacerdotalism  than  flagrant  Manichseism.  It  was  they  who 
secretly  throughout  Europe  sowed  the  seeds  of  that  revolt 
wliich  rent  half  of  Europe  from  the  Church  in  the  i6th  cen- 
tury. The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  dragonnades 
and  galleys  of  Louis  XIV.,  forced  thousands  of  Huguenots 
into  external  profession  of  Catholicism.  Their  brooding 
discontent  spread,  infected  the  community,  and  broke  out 
in  the  frenzy  against  religion  and  monarchy  of  the  first 
French  Revolution. 

S.  Augustine,  during  the  rule  of  Gildo,  was  constrained 
to  use  his  tongue  and  pen  alone  against  his  adversaries. 
He  wrote  at  this  time  his  great  book  on  the  Trinity,  and  the 
elaborate  work  against  Faustus  the  Manichsean,  whom  in  his 
Confessions  he  had  characterized  as  that  "  great  snare  of 
the  devil/'  whose  knowledge  he  had  found  so  shallow.  He 
opposed  the  Donatist  principle — that  since  "  God  heareth 
not  sinners,"  the  wickedness  of  the  minister  hindered  the 
effect  of  the  ordinances — in  his  replies  to  the  letters  of  Par- 
menian  and  Petilian,  and  in  his  treatise  on  Baptism.  His 
position  was,  that  the  Church  was  not  deprived  of  spiritual 
privileges  by  the  presence  within  her  of  sinners  whom  she 
could  not  expel  without  driving  them  into  schism  ;  seeing 
that  the  presence  of  Christ,  ever  living  as  the  great  fountain  of 
grace  in  the  midst  of  His  Church,  secures  to  the  sacraments 
their  validity,  and  to  His  ordinances  a  perpetual  vitality. 

During  the  winter  of  404,  Augustine  held  a  discussion 
with  Felix  the  Manichaean,  who  avowed  that  the  chief 
attraction  of  Manichaeism  in  his  own  case  was  the  plausible- 
ness  of  its  doctrines  concerning  the  origin  and  end  of  the 
material  world.  Felix  was  convinced,  and  had  the  unusual 
candour  to  embrace  Catholicism. 

The  more  frantic  enthusiasts  of  the  Donatist  sect  were 

VOL.   IX.  2t, 

»J« * 


»*<- 


-* 


370  Lives  of  the  Saints, 


[August  9& 


called  Circumcellions.  No  sooner  had  the  provincial  autho- 
rities received  instructions  to  reduce  the  province  by  force 
to  a  semblance  of  religious  unity,  than  the  Circumcellions 
broke  out  into  open  revolt.  Donatism  was  made  a  matter 
of  blood  and  of  tongue.  The  Latin-speaking  settlers  in  Africa 
adhered  to  Catholicism,  the  Punic-speaking  relics  of  the  old 
Phoenician  colonists  embraced  Donatism.  Under  the  mask, 
unconsciously  assumed,  of  religious  controversy,  the 
descendants  of  conquered  Carthage  rose  against  the 
descendants  of  their  conquerors. 

The  Circumcellions  abandoned  their  agricultural  imple- 
ments, and  proclaimed  themselves  instruments  of  Divine 
justice  and  protectors  of  the  oppressed  ;  they  first  asserted 
the  wild  theory  of  the  civil  equahty  of  mankind,  proclaimed 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  and,  led  by  their  clergy,  marched 
against  Catholics,  slave-masters,  and  usurers.  Their  battle- 
cry  was  "  Praise  to  God  ! "  Their  weapons  were  massive 
clubs,  with  which  they  beat  their  miserable  victims  to  death. 
Trains  of  sacred  virgins  attended  the  "  Companies  of  the 
Saints."  Catholics  called  them  troops  of  drunken  prostitutes. 
Donatists  flung  back  the  odious  and  false  imputations  on 
Catholic  religious  communities. 

Maximian,  Catholic  Bishop  of  Bagae,  was  taken  by  the 
Circumcellions,  and  beaten  on  the  head  with  the  timbers  of 
his  own  altar.  Left  for  dead,  he  was  again  seized  and  flung 
from  a  tower.  The  care  of  a  peasant  and  his  wife  enabled 
Maximian  to  travel  to  Italy,  where  he  showed  his  scars  to 
Honorius,  and  told  his  tale,  no  doubt  with  exaggerations. 
Other  bands  of  Circumcellions  fell  on  the  Catholic  clergy, 
and  poured  vinegar  and  lime  into  their  eyes. 

A  synod  was  summoned  (a.d.  404)  at  Carthage,  and  an 
appeal  was  made  to  the  Emperor  to  put  in  force  against  the 
Donatists  the  harsh  penal  laws  of  Theodosius.  But  before 
the  deputies  reached  Honorius,  the  Emperor  had  issued  an 

*- ,__ —  ^--'-    ■    -    ■ »J« 


*- 


* 


August  38.] 


6*.  Au^tisHne. 


37' 


edict  against  the  Donatists,  threatening  the  laity  with  fines, 
and  the  clergy  with  exile,  if  they  did  not  abandon  their 
schism. 

In  the  year  405  an  unprofitable  controversy  of  no  little 
interest  came  to  an  end.  Augustine  and  Jerome  had  for 
years  been  discussing  whether  the  Septuagint  could  claim 
an  absolute  authority,  whether  S.  Peter's  weakness  and  S. 
Paul's  rebuke  at  Antioch  were  simulated  or  real,  whetlier 
the  latter  had  been  guilty  of  falsehood  or  of  equivocation. 
Each  party  came  to  see  the  value  of  an  independent  transla- 
tion from  the  Hebrew  text ;  and  Jerome  apparently  learned 
the  more  important  lesson  that  Scripture  could  authorize  no 
pious  frauds.' 

Augustine  was  about  this  time  troubled  at  a  scandal 
which  occurred  in  his  own  monastery  at  Hippo.  He  tried 
in  vain  to  hush  it  up,  but  when  it  got  wind,  it  caused  not 
only  distress  to  the  Catholics,  but  gave  occasion  to  the 
Donatists  to  exult. 

Under  his  irritation  and  annoyance  he  wrote  an  elaborate 
letter  in  favour  of  coercing  the  Donatists.  However,  painful 
as  his  argument  is,  we  must  in  fairness  remember  that  he 
had  seen  the  Chuich  attacked,  not  simply  by  an  opposing 
sect,  but  by  a  sect  whose  weapon  was  murderous  brutality  ; 
and  that  when,  towards  the  end  of  408,  it  became  a  capital 
offence  to  disturb  the  Church's  worship,  Augustine  shrank 
from  the  bloody  exercise  of  the  powers  he  had  appealed 
for,  and  entreated  the  pro-consul  of  Africa  to  "  forget  that 
he  had  the  power  of  inflicting  death." 

In  the  course  of  409,  Honorius.  apparently  in  order  to 
secure  the  support  of  all  classes,  put  forth  a  short-lived  edict 
of  toleration. 

*  Adv  Pelag.  22.  A  low  standard  of  truthfulness  in  the  decaying  empire  had  its 
influence  on  some  eminent  chuichmen.  Augustine  found  it  necessary  to  remonstrate 
against  tampering  with  truth,  and  to  insist  with  special  earnestness  on  the  duty  of 
truthfulness  in  the  cause  of  truth. 


24- 


*- 


-* 


372  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustas. 

In  the  summer  of  41  t  the  Catholic  bishops  of  Western 
Africa  held  a  conference  with  the  Donatists  at  Carthage, 
and  to  force  these  sectaries  to  attend  it,  Honorius  com- 
missioned his  secretary,  Marcel)  inus,  to  preside. 

The  story  of  this  conference  has  been  told  elsewhere 
(April  6,  p.  89),  and  can  only  be  hastily  noticed  in  this 
place.  Marcellinus  assured  the  Donatist  bishops  who 
should  attend  exemption  from  recent  penalties,  and 
solemnly  promised,  by  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  Incarnation, 
and  the  Day  of  Judgment,  to  act  with  entire  impartiality. 
In  May,  two  hundred  and  seventy  Donatist  prelates  entered 
Carthage  with  considerable  pomp.  The  Catholic  prelates 
were  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  in  number.  The  conference 
was  long,  recriminative,  and  ended  in  neither  party  con- 
vincing the  other. 

Marcellinus  then  drew  up  a  sentence,  ordering  the  sup- 
pression of  Donatist  conventicles,  and  that  the  use  of 
churches  which  had  been  permitted  to  the  sectaries  should 
henceforth  be  denied  them.  This  intolerable  and  atrocious 
sentence  was  confirmed  by  Honorius  on  Jan.  30,  412  ; 
he  abrogated  all  laws  in  favour  of  the  Donatists ;  imposed 
fines  on  all  of  them  ;  banished  their  clergy,  and  ordered 
the  country  labourers  to  be  reclaimed  from  their  schism  by 
"  frequent  strokes  of  the  lash." 

Augustine  was  now  about  to  be  involved  in  another  con- 
troversy. Whilst  he  was  absorbed  by  the  business  of  the 
conference,  he  once  or  twice  saw  Pelagius,  a  British  Chris- 
tian— his  Welsh  name  was  Morgan — at  Carthage.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Coelestius ;  Pelagius  departed  for  Palestine, 
but  Coelestius  remained  at  Carthage. 

Paulinus,  a  Milanese  deacon,  then  at  Carthage,  engaged 
in  writing  the  life  of  S.  Ambrose,  accused  Coelestius  before 
Aurelius  the  Bishop,  of  publicly  avowing,  and  widely 
disseminating  the  propositions  that — i.  Adam  was  created 

1^ _ ^ 


* — ^ 

August  t8.]  '5'.  Augustine.  373 


mortal ;  2.  That  the  fall  of  Adam  was  personal,  and  did  not 
entail  sin  on  his  descendants  ;  3.  That  infants  are  born  in  an 
unfallen  state;  4.  That  mankind  did  not  die  in  Adam, 
nor  rise  in  Christ.  (This  latter  was  an  unfair  deduction 
from  the  teaching  of  Pelagius  and  Coelestius.)  5.  That  man 
might  be  saved  by  observing  the  moral  law,  as  well  as  by 
the  Gospel ;  6.  That  there  were  sinless  men  before  Christ 
came;  7.  That  infants  dying  unbaptized  were  not  neces- 
sarily lost  eternally. 

On  being  questioned  by  a  council,  at  which  Augustine 
was  not  present,  Coelestius  admitted  or  explained  his  doctrine 
as  formulated  by  Paulinus.  Augustine  heard  of  this,  and 
fired  up.  Pelagianism,  he  said,  was  reducible  to  two 
principles— the  denial  of  Supernatural  Grace,  and  the  denial 
of  Original  Sin.  He  attacked  the  new  doctrine  both  in 
sermons  and  in  treatises,  which  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  ihe 
Church  as  to  the  first  and  second  Adam,  the  need  of  a 
Saviour  for  infants,  the  difference  between  original  sin  and 
"the  following  of  Adam,"  between  regeneration  and  the 
imitation  of  Christ.  Influenced  perhaps  by  his  early 
teaching,  in  his  controversy  with  Pelagius  (in  his  other 
writings  he  holds  another  tone),  Augustine  boldly  pro- 
claimed the  physical  transmission  of  sin  in  the  propagation 
of  children,  and  the  damnation  of  unbaptized  infants,  but 
qualified  it  as  a  milder  one  than  that  which  is  the  lot  of  those 
who  wilfully  reject  salvation. 

Pelagius  asserted  the  freedom  of  the  will  to  choose  aright, 
to  follow  virtue,  to  reject  evil.  Augustine  looking  back  on 
his  own  conversion,  and  not  noticing  that,  under  the  fig-tree, 
when  Grace  was  wrestling  with  his  heart,  he  had,  by  an 
exercise  of  free  will,  cast  off  the  old  man  and  his  deeds,  and 
thrown  open  the  door  to  Grace,  was  disposed  to  attribute 
to  Divine  Grace  a  constraining  power  almost  destructive  to 
human  fireedom,  to  use  expressions,  in  the  vehemence  of 


-* 


-* 


3  74  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  28. 


controversy,  which  are  neutraHzed  by  other  sayings  in  calmer 
moments,  and  to  lay  down  maxims  of  predestination,  of  the 
supremacy  of  Grace,  the  incapacity  of  the  will  of  man  to 
think  or  to  do  any  good  thing,  which,  if  carried  to  their 
logical  conclusion,  are  destructive  to  morality,  and  which 
laid,  in  fact,  the  foundation  of  the  most  paralysing  and 
deadly  of  all  modern  heresies — Calvinism.  His  controversy 
with  Pelagius  occupied  Augustine  till  418.  But  he  had 
time  to  cheer  on  the  governor  to  fresh  acts  of  tyranny 
against  the  luckless  Donatists,  whom,  unable  to  convince,  he 
was  determined  to  efface.  His  last  work  against  Donatism 
was  called  forth  by  the  piteous  wail  of  Gaudentius,  a 
Donatist  bishop,  that  if  these  penal  laws  were  enforced 
against  him,  there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  burn  him- 
self and  his  flock  in  their  church.  Augustine  wrote  two 
books  against  the  unfortunate  prelate  whom  he  had  driven 
to  desperation,  coldly  informing  him  that  suicide  was  a  sin. 
Yet  the  threat  seems  to  have  opened  his  eyes  to  the  impolicy 
if  not  the  wickedness  of  compulsion  ;  and  he  concludes  his 
appeal  with  the  words,  "  Let  us  then  agree  to  hold  Catholic 
charity,  in  growing  up  with  the  wheat,  in  bearing  with  the 
tares  unto  the  end,  and  in  living  for  ever  in  the  garner." 

Augustine  wrote  a  letter  to  Sixtus,  priest  of  Rome,  after- 
wards Pope,  on  Pelagianism.  In  this  famous  letter  he  not 
only  went  over  the  ordinary  topics  as  to  the  Divine  origina- 
tion of  all  good  in  man,  the  evidence  of  original  sin,  &c., 
but  dwelt  with  earnestness  and  positiveness  on  a  view  which 
he  had  started  already  in  writing  to  Paulinus,  the  danger  of 
which  he  did  not  see — a  theory  of  absolute  predestination, 
a  fatalism  like  that  which  afterwards  formed  the  basis  of  the 
teaching  of  Mahomet.  According  to  this  horrible  doctrine, 
all  men  are  equally  deserving  of  perdition  ;  all  are  formed  of 
one  "  lump "  of  damnable  sin.^  God  might  justly  have 
punished  all,  but  for  inscrutable  reasons,   scarcely  to  be 

'  Luther  adopted  tliis  view  into  his  system. 
* — — — ij, 


-* 


August  2t$.J 


S.  Augusli7ie.  375 


distinguished  from  caprice,  he  chose  to  elect  some  for  weal 
and  form  others  to  woe.  Man's  foreseen  qualities,  his  efforts, 
his  yearnings  after  good,  have  nothing  to  do  with  his 
salvation,  which  is  fatally  regulated  by  God's  hidden  will. 
A  horrible  doctrine,  which  does  away  with  all  necessity  for 
man  making  an  endeavour  to  follow  after  righteousness, 
which  relieves  him  from  the  smallest  compunction  when 
plunging  into  crime  Fortunately  Augustine,  in  practice,  did 
not  follow  out  this  his  doctrine,  and  in  other  works  insisted 
on  truths  which  sap  its  foundations. 

This  letter  of  Augustine  caused  great  disputes  in  426 
among  the  monks  of  Adrumetum.  The  Abbot  Valentine,  in 
calm  self-complacency  and  assurance  of  his  own  salvation, 
and  sitting  in  the  ashes  of  dead  lusts,  highly  approved  of 
this  system  of  Predestinarianism ;  but  not  so  the  younger 
monks,  conscious  of  daily  exercise  of  their  free  wills  in  the 
daily  struggle  against  passion.  The  letter  had  been  brought 
to  the  monastery  by  a  monk  named  Felix,  who  read  it  to 
the  brethren;  whereupon  some  of  them  exclaimed  that  11 
destroyed  free-will.  At  length,  in  the  spring  of  427,  after  a 
winter  kept  warm  with  controversy  on  the  subject,  two 
young  monks,  Cresconius  and  Felix,  were  sent  to  consult 
Augustine.  He  wrote  in  reply  a  letter  to  the  brotherhood, 
exhorting  them  to  hold  together  the  truths  of  grace  and  free- 
will, salvation  and  judgment  according  to  works.  He  how- 
ever composed  a  treatise,  "  On  Grace  and  Free-will,"  of  a 
most  mischievous  tendency ;  in  which,  while  contending  for 
the  real  sense  of  the  former  term,  he  evaporated  the  latter  of 
all  real  significance  and  force.  For  he  ascribed  to  Grace  such 
a  vast  controlling  power  as  practically  annulled  all  freedom 
of  choice ;  the  will,  under  Grace,  could  not  choose  aught  but 
good,  and  Grace  became  an  irresistible  power.  Into  this 
extreme  statement  Augustine's  predestinarianism  led  him  by 
a  necessary  consequence. 

The  treatise  was  sent  in  a  second  letter  to  Valentine, 
*— * 


376  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augustus. 

Abbot  of  Adrumetum,  who,  in  reply,  extolled  Augustine  as 
exhibiting  the  wisdom  of  an  angel  of  God.  But  one  of  the 
monks  took  an  objection  :  "If  the  will  to  do  good  is 
purely  God's  gift,  why  am  I  corrected  for  my  faults,  seeing 
that  He  has  not  given  me  such  a  will  ?     God  is  unjust." 

Augustine,  in  reply,  wrote  another  treatise,  "  On  Correc- 
tion and  Grace ; "  in  which  he  maintained  that  those  who 
are  "  called  according  to  purpose  "  have  an  indefectible 
faith  and  an  incapacity  for  sin  ;  whereas  the  non-elect  are 
the  proper  subjects  of  all  penal  infliction,  simply  as  being 
what  they  are. 

The  tone  of  the  argument  is  at  once  stern  and  unreal. 
We  see  the  great  writer  condemned  by  a  trenchant 
theory  to  have  recourse  to  such  a  distinction  as  that 
between  the  "free"  will  ot  the  non-elect,  and  the  "freed" 
will  of  the  elect,  each  of  them  being,  on  the  hypothesis,  con- 
strained in  one  particular  direction ;  the  former  unable  to 
choose  good,  the  latter  unable  to  choose  evil.  We  see  the 
ingrained  Manichceism  of  Augustine  breaking  out  in  this 
dividing  of  the  world  into  regions  of  cloudless  light  and 
total  darkness.  The  Deity  was  net  mingled  in  any  way 
in  the  darkness  ;  all  who  lay  under  the  shadow  of  evil  were 
fatally  bound  to  do  evil :  all  their  generosity,  patience, 
strivings  to  keep  the  natural  law,  purity,  modesty,  courage, 
were  all  evil,  utterly,  unredeemedly  evil,  and  could  not  call 
uj)  an  emotion  of  love,  of  interest,  in  the  breast  of  the 
•Creator,  nor  stir  Him  to  compunction  at  burning  in  eternal 
flames  those  who  all  their  lifetime  had  striven  according  to 
their  light  to  serve  Him. 

Within  the  pale  of  Election  was  the  world  of  Salvation 
and  Light.  Those  within  could  not  sin.  The  human  soul 
was  so  reduced  to  a  subordinate  agent  before  the  mysterious 
and  inscrutable  power  which,  by  the  infusion  of  faith, 
rescued  it  from  its  inveterate,  hereditary  propensity,  that  it 

^ — ^ 


-<^ 


August  28.] 


kS.  Augustine.  377 


became  entirely  passive,  altogether  annihilated,  incapable 
of  overleaping  the  profound  though  narrow  gulf  which 
divided  the  two  kingdoms  of  Grace  and  Perdition. 

We  are  amazed  to  notice  the  boldness  with  which  Augus- 
tine sweeps  away  the  plain  meaning  of  a  text  that  stands  in 
the  path  of  his  system,  as  that  which  speaks  of  God's  "  desire 
that  all  men  should  be  saved,"  and  which  he  interprets  as 
referring  only  to  the  elect,  among  whom  are  specimens  of 
"  all "  classes,  those  who  observe  the  moral  law  and  those 
who  do  not. 

In  427  Augustine  carried  out  a  long-cherished  design  of 
reviewing  all  his  treatises,  and  correcting  whatever  might 
displease  his  ripened  judgment.  This  process  of  rehandling 
was  applied,  in  two  books  which  bear  the  name  of  "  Retrac- 
tiones,"  to  ninety-three  treatises  ;  the  letters  were  reserved 
for  a  subsequent  revision. 

In  the  meantime  Augustine's  book  "  On  Correction  and 
Grace"  had  reached  the  bishops  of  Gaul,  and  had  been  perused 
by  them  with  astonishment  and  alarm.  They  denounced 
his  teaching  on  moral  grounds,  as  tending  at  least  to  care- 
lessness, and  discouraging  exertion.  They  insisted  on 
God's  offers  of  mercy  to  all  men,  on  the  universality  of 
baptism,  on  the  unlimited  efficacy  of  the  death  of  Christ. 
Augustine  wrote  against  them  two  books  on  "  The  Predesti- 
nation of  the  Saints,"  and  "  The  Gift  of  Perseverance,"  in 
which  he  advanced  his  views  in  all  their  offensiveness,  but 
admitted  that  they  would  not  bear  teaching  to  the  people 
without  discretion. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Gallicans  were  not  to  be  disposed 
of  thus ;  their  objections  were  real,  rising  out  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  morality.  They  would  not  be  brow- 
beaten as  had  been  the  Donatists.  By  his  own  showing, 
Augustine  did  not  acknowledge,  on  man's  part,  any  real 
freedom  of  will  \  on  God's,  any  real  readiness  to  have  mercy 

>i< — ^ 


*- 


-* 


3  78 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  a8. 


on  all  men.  The  truths  for  which  the  Galileans  were 
solicitous  appeared  in  their  due  place,  in  the  admirable 
dogmatic  statements  of  the  Gallican  Council  of  Orange 
held  a  century  later — in  529.  That  assembly  scanned  the 
mystery  of  grace  and  free-will  on  both  sides,  and  while 
glorifying  God  as  the  inspirer  of  prayer  and  faith,  proclaimed 
that  "  all  the  baptized,  having  received  grace  through 
baptism,  could,  by  the  co  operating  aid  of  Christ,  work  out 
their  own  salvation."  "  We  not  only  do  not  believe  that 
any  are  predestined  to  evil,  but  if  any  hold  so  evil  a  belief, 
we  say  Anathema  to  them  that  do,  with  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence." 

Augustine  was  taken  away  before  Africa  fell  under  the 
sway  of  the  Arian  Vandals.  Hippo,  one  of  the  three 
cities  which  had  as  yet  escaped  the  common  ruin,  was 
besieged  by  the  Vandals  in  June,  430.  One  day  Augustine 
while  at  table  announced  to  the  other  bishops  who  had 
taken  shelter  in  Hippo,  that  he  had  prayed  God  either  to 
deliver  the  city  or  to  strengthen  His  servants  to  bear  His 
will,  or  at  least  to  take  him  out  of  this  world.  That  repres- 
sion of  error  by  the  arm  of  flesh  which  he  had  leaned  on 
against  the  Donatists  was  now  to  be  excited  by  Vandal 
heretics  against  Catholicism.  "  They  that  take  the  sword  sliall 
perish  by  the  sword."  He  may  have  foreseen  this,  and  been 
saddened  to  weariness  of  life  by  the  prospect.  He  ceased 
not  to  preach  and  work,  till  in  August  he  was  prostrated  by 
fever  ;  and  as  he  used  to  say  that  even  approved  Christians 
and  priests  ought  to  die  as  penitents,  he  excluded  his  friends 
from  his  room,  except  at  certain  hours,  caused  the  peniten- 
tial psalms  to  be  written  out  and  fixed  on  the  wall  opposite 
his  bed,  and  repeated  them  with  many  tears ;  thus  by  his 
last  acts  throwing  over  the  consequences  and  with  them  the 
principles  advanced  in  his   later  dangerous   treatises   that 


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August  28.] 


S.  Augustine. 


379 


grew  out  of  the  Pelagian  controversy.  He  expired  on 
Aug.  30,  A.D.  430,  in  his  seventy-seventh  year. 

The  body  of  S.  Augustine  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
S.  Stephen  at  Hippo,  but  was  removed  to  Sardinia  fifty-six 
years  after  by  the  exiled  African  bishops.  When  Sardinia 
fell  into  the  power  of  the  Saracens,  in  710,  Luitprand,  King 
of  the  Lombards,  redeemed  the  body,  and  it  was  placed  in 
the  church  of  S.  Peter  in  Pavia.  The  relics  have  been 
since  moved  into  the  cathedral.  Some  portions  have  been 
given  lately  (a.d.  1837)  to  the  diocese  of  Algiers  and  placed 
in  a  church  erected  on  the  ruined  site  of  Hippo. 

S.  Augustine  is  represented  with  a  burning  heart  in  his 
hand. 


S.  Antony  the  Great  (Jan    17) 


*- 


-* 


380  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  19. 


August  29. 

Decollation  of  S.  John  the  Baptist  (see  June  24). 

SS.  Serai'ia,  V.M.,  AND  Sabina,  M.  at  Rome;  circ.  a.d.  ia6. 

S.  Adklphus,  B.  at  Metz;  ^th  cent. 

S.  Sebbi,  K.  of  the  East  Saxons;  a.d.  694. 

S.  Mederic,  p.  Ab.  at  Paris;  circ.  a.d.  700. 

S.  Vekona,  V.  at  Louvain;  \oth  cent. 


S.  SEBBI,  K.C. 
(about  a.d.  694.) 

[Modern  Roman  Martyrology,  inserted  by  Baronius,  not  in  any  ancient 
Martyrologies.     Authority  : — Bede,  Hist.  iii.  29,  iv.  11.] 


jJNGS  SIGHERE  and  Sebbi,  though  subject  to 
Wulfhere,  King  of  the  Mercians,  governed  the 
East  Saxons  after  Swidhehn.  During  this  reign 
a  pestilence  broke  out  in  Essex,  and  Sighere 
with  that  part  of  the  people  which  was  under  his  dominion, 
thinking  the  plague  was  sent  by  their  old  gods  in  punish- 
ment for  their  desertion  of  Woden,  returned  to  their  ancient 
faith,  and  began  to  restore  the  pagan  temples,  and  set  up 
again  the  images  of  the  great  gods  of  Walhall — Woden 
the  one-eyed,  Thor  the  red-bearded  holding  his  hammer, 
and  Frey,  beautiful,  long-haired,  holding  a  fish.  But  Sebbi, 
with  his  people,  clave  to  the  Lord.  King  Wulfliere  sent 
Jaruman,  Bishop  of  Lichfield,  into  the  realm  of  Sighere  to 
preach  to  the  people.  Bede  says  :  "  He  proceeded  with 
much  discretion,  as  I  was  informed  by  a  priest  who  bore 
him  company  in  that  journey,  and  had  been  his  fellow- 
labourer  in  the  Word.  For  he  was  a  religious  and  good 
man,  and  travelling  through  all  the  country,  reduced  both 


-* 


August  39.] 


^S".  Sebbi.  381 


the  aforesaid  king  (Sighere)  and  people  to  the  way  of 
righteousness,  so  that,  forsaking  or  destroying  the  temples 
and  altars  which  they  had  erected,  they  opened  the  churches, 
and  rejoiced  in  confessing  the  name  of  Christ.  These 
things  being  done,  the  priests  and  teachers  returned  home 
with  joy."  "  Sebbi,"  continues  Bade,  "  was  much  addicted 
to  religious  works,  almsgiving,  and  frequent  prayer ;  pre- 
ferring a  private  and  monastic  life  to  all  the  wealth  and 
honours  of  his  kingdom,  which  sort  of  life  he  would  also 
long  before  have  adopted,  had  not  his  wife  positively 
refused  to  part  with  him ;  for  which  reason  many  were  of 
opinion,  and  gave  vent  to  it  in  words,  that  he  was  more  fit 
to  be  a  bishop  than  a  king.  When  he  had  been  thirty 
years  a  king,  and  a  soldier  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  he  fell 
violently  sick,  and  died  of  this  sickness  ;  but  when  attacked, 
he  admonished  his  wife  that  they  should  then  at  least  jointly 
devote  themselves  to  the  service  of  God,  since  they  could 
no  longer  enjoy,  that  is,  serve,  the  world.  Having  with 
much  difficulty  obtained  this  of  her,  he  repaired  to  Waldhere, 
Bishop  of  London,  and  with  his  blessing  received  the 
religious  habit,  which  he  had  long  desired.  He  also  carried 
to  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  to  be  given  to  the 
poor,  reserving  nothing  to  himself,  but  rather  coveting  to 
remain  poor  in  spirit  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

"  When  the  aforesaid  distemper  increased  upon  him, 
and  he  perceived  the  day  of  his  death  to  be  drawing  near, 
being  a  man  of  royal  disposition,  he  began  to  apprehend 
lest,  when  under  pain,  and  at  the  approach  of  death,  any- 
thing unbecoming  might  escape  from  his  lips,  or  there 
might  be  want  of  dignity  in  the  posture  of  his  limbs.  He 
therefore  called  to  him  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  entreated 
that  none  might  be  present  at  his  death  except  the  bishop 
and  two  of  his  attendants.     The  bishop  consented." 

As  Waldhere  dozed  by  the  King's  bed,  he  thought  he 


*- 


-* 


»3&- 


-* 


>±< 


382 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  99. 


saw  men  in  shining  garments  minister  to  the  sick  man,  and 
promise  him  a  painless  death.  Sebbi  passed  away  gently 
in  a  slumber,  and  was  buried  in  S.  Paul's,  London.  Bede 
adds  an  unworthy  and  ridiculous  story  about  the  stone 
coffin  of  Sebbi. 


* 


•i<- 


August  30.]  '^'^-  Felix  and  Admicttis,  383 


August  30. 

S.  Philonidks,  B.M.  in  Cyprus ;  circ.  a.d.  303. 

SS.  Felix,  P.M.,  and  Adaoctus,  M.  at  Ostia  or  Rome;  cift, 

A.D.  304. 
S.  Pammacius,  C.  at  Rome  ;  a.d.  409. 
S.  iEoNius,  B.  0/ Aries;  a.d.  502. 
S.  MODAN,  H.  at  Kill-Modan  in  Ulster. 
S.  Agilius,  Ab.  at  Rebais  ;  a.d.  650. 
S.  Fiacre,  H.  at  Breuil,  in  France ;  ^th  cent. 
S.  Ameltrode,  V.  at  Jumitges,  in  Normandy  ;  jth  or  ith  cent, 
S.  Fantinus,  Mk.  at  Thessalonica  ;  gth  cent. 

SS.  FELIX  AND  ADAUCTUS,  MM. 
(about  a.d.  304.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  Ado,  Usuardus,  and  almost  all  Latin  Martyr- 
ologies.  Authority  :— Mention  in  the  Martyrologies,  the  ancient  Acts,  and 
a  poem  by  Marbod  of  Rennes.] 

AINT  FELIX,  a  Roman  priest,  was  taken  in  the 
persecution  of  Diocletian  and  condemned  to 
lose  his  head.  As  he  was  being  led  to  execu- 
tion he  was  met  by  a  stranger,  who,  being  a 
Christian,  was  so  moved  by  the  sight  that  he  cried  out  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  I  also  confess  the  same  law  as  this  man.  I 
confess  the  same  Jesus  Christ ;  and  I  am  ready  to  lay  do^vn 
my  Hfe  in  witness  of  these  truths."  He  was  at  once  seized, 
led  before  the  magistrate,  hastily  sentenced,  and  the  martyrs 
were  both  beheaded  together.  The  real  name  of  the 
stranger  was  never  ascertained.  He  was  therefore  called 
Adauctus,  or  one  who  had  joined  himself  to  the  martyr 
Felix, 


*- 


-* 


®- 


384  Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  -vi. 


S.  FIACRE,  H.C. 

(7TH    CENT.) 

[Roman  and  Gallican  Martyrologies,  Aberdeen  Breviary  on  Aug.  2^,' 
and  30.  Authority  :— A  life  by  an  anonymous  writer— late,  rath  cent.,  and 
not  trustworthy.] 

S.  Fiacre,  or  Fiachre,  was  of  an  illustrious  family  in 
Ireland.  Wishing  to  lead  a  solitary  life,  he  withdrew  to 
France  with  some  followers,  and  applied  to  S.  Faro  ot 
Meaux,  who  was  fond  of  the  Irish,  for  some  lonesome  spot 
that  might  serve  him  as  a  retreat  from  the  bustle  of  the 
world.  The  bishop  immediately  promised  him  as  much 
ground  in  his  own  patrimony  of  Breuil  as  he  could  dig  in  a 
day.  Fiacre  dug  so  lustily  that  a  woman  complained  to  the 
bishop  he  had  taken  an  unfair  advantage  of  him  ;  wherefore 
women  were  not  allowed  to  enter  his  chapel.  "  It  is  said," 
we  are  told  by  Hector  Boece,  "  All  wemen  that  gangis  in 
his  chapell  wil  be  othir  blind  or  wod  (mad)."  The  woman, 
finding  S.  Faro  paid  no  attention  to  her  complaint,  returned 
to  the  forest,  and  began  to  abuse  S.  Fiacre  with  all  that 
wannth,  copiousness  of  verbiage,  and  bitterness  of  tongue  of 
which  only  woman  is  capable.  Fiacre  sat  very  depressed 
under  this  torrent  of  words  on  a  stone,  and  the  impression 
of  his  person  is  left  on  the  stone  to  this  day.  The  stone, 
with  a  curved  impression  in  the  centre,  was  preserved  in  the 
nave  of  the  church  of  S.  Fiacre  at  Breuil,  placed  on  a 
pedestal  for  the  convenience  of  pilgrims,  who,  suffering 
from  hsemorrheids,  sat  upon  it,  and  received  miraculous 
healing.^ 

At  Breuil  Fiacre  erected  a  monastery  in  honour  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  where  he  used  to  receive  strangers  and 
guests,  living  himself  in  a  cell  apart.  His  reputation  became 
so   great,    that   from  all  parts  infirm  persons  used  to  be 

*  As  Fiacre  B.  of  Autun  ;   there  never  was  such  a  bishoo. 
'  Dom  Pirou :  la  Vie  admirable  de  S.  Fiacre,  t.  i,  p.  59. 


'^ 


August  30.J  S.  Fiacre.  385 

brought  to  him,  whom  he  cured  by  merely  laying  hands  on 
them.  After  his  death  also,  the  date  of  which  cannot  be 
fixed  with  precision,  streams  of  pilgrims  came  to  Breuil,  for 
the  privilege  and  gratification  of  sitting  in  the  depression 
made  by  Fiacre  in  the  solid  stone.  The  relics  of  S.  Fiacre 
were  removed  to  the  Cathedral  of  Meaux  in  1568,  for  pro- 
tection against  the  fury  of  the  Huguenots,  but  the  stone 
was  left  at  Breuil,  and  escaped  their  notice.  Access  to  the 
chapel  of  S.  Fiacre  remained  for  long  forbidden  to  women. 
Following  a  peculiarity  of  that  sex,  several  at  various  periods 
persisted  in  attempting  an  entrance,  and  a  string  of  miracles 
is  recorded  of  the  manner  in  which  this  curiosity  was 
punished.  One  woman  put  her  foot  in  at  the  door,  and  it 
swelled  up  to  elephantine  proportions,  and  the  eyes  of 
another  who  peeped  in  dropped  out. 

S.  Fiacre  died  on  the  i8th  of  August,  but  his  festival  is 
celebrated  on  the  30th. 

There  exists  a  curious  "  Mystbre  de  Monsieur  Saint 
Fiacre"  of  the  15th  century,  published  by  M.  Jubinal  ;*  and  a 
very  interesting  window  of  the  i6th  century  at  the  church 
of  S.  Maclou  in  Pontoise,  represents  his  legend.  Unfortu- 
nately half  the  window  is  destroyed,  but  what  remains 
represents  eight  scenes  in  his  life,  with  the  following 
inscriptions : — 

1.  "  Comme  Sainct  Fiacre  en  son  jeune  age  alloit  \  I'escole 
pour  apprendre  la  foy  catholique." 

2.  "  Comme  le  pere  de  Saint  Fiacre,  due  de  Hybemie, 
le  voulut  marier,  avec  .  .  .  Damoiselle,  fiUe " 
(the  rest  illegible). 

3.  S.    Fiacre   departing  from   his   parents.      Inscription 
destroyed. 

4.  "  Comme  Sainct  Fiacre  arriva  a  la  mer  et  pria  un 
marinier  de  le  passer  en  France." 

'  Mystferes  in^dits  du  xv*  siide. 

VOL.  IX.  as 

^ li« 


^- 


386 


Lives  of  the  Saints. 


[August  30 


-* 


5.  "  Comme  Sainct  Fiacre,  aprbs  avoir  passe  la  mer  vint 

\   Sainct  Pharon,  evesque  de  Meaux,    et   lui   fit 
priere " 

6.  "  Comme  Sainct  Pharon  donna  conge  k  Sainct  Fiacre 

d'aller  faire  un  hermitage  aubois  pour  soy  y  tenir." 

7.  "  Comme  Sainct  Fiacre  abattit  grand  nombre  de  boys 

et  a  tant  fachd  bequenaude  qui  le  reprint  et  accusa 
k  Saint  Pharon." 

8.  **  Comme  Sainct  Pharon  consola  Sainct  Fiacre,  et  le 

reprint  de  son  ddcouragement." 


-f^ 


*- 


-* 


August  31.] 


6'.  Paulinus.  ^87 


August  31. 

S.  Aristidks,  Philosopher  at  Athens;  ittd  cent. 

S.  CyESiDius,  P.M.  at  Tratisagui,  in  the  Abruzzi ;  a.d.  31a 

S.  Paulinus,  B.  of  Treves  ;  a.d.  360. 

S.  Optatus,  P.C.  at  Auxerre ;  circ.  a.d.  530. 

S.  Eanswitha,  V.  Abss.  of  Folkestone ;  a.d.  640. 

S.  AiDAN,  B.  of  Lindisfame  ;  a.d.  651. 

S.  Cuthburga,  Q.  Abss.  of  IVinbome ;  circ.  a.d.  725. 

S.  Raymund  Nonnatus,  Card,  at  Cordova;  a.d.  1240. 

S.  PAULINUS,  B.  OF  TREVES. 
(A.D.   360.) 

[Roman  and    Gallican   Martyrologies,    Ado,    Usuardns,    Wandelbert. 
Authorities  : — Various  incidental  notices  collected  by  the  BoUandists.] 

^AINT  PAULINUS,  a  disciple  of  S.  Maximian  of 
Treves,  succeeded  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  that- 
great  and  important  city,  the  capital  of  Belgic 
Gaul,  on  the  death  of  S.  Maximian,  in  a.d.  349. 
When  the  great  Athanasius  was  banished  to  Treves,  he  was 
received  with  open  arms  by  Paulinus.     The  bishop  was 
summoned  to  Aries  by  Constantius,  bent  on  Arianizing  the 
Church.     Constantius  had  convened  a  council  at  Aries,  in 
which  he  hoped  to  force  the  bishops  to  renounce  the  com- 
munion of  Athanasius.     The  aged  Vincent,  who  had  repre- 
sented Pope  S.  Sylvester  at  Nicsea,  unhappily  yielded,  in 
the  vain  hope  that  Valens  and  his  friends  would,  on  their 
side,  condemn  the  Arian  heresy.     Vincent  appears  to  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  sacrifice  one  man,  in  order  to  secure 
the  Creed.     But  Paulinus  of  Treves  saw  that  in  this  one 
man  the  whole  cause  of  the  faith  was  represented.     To 
abandon  Athanasius  was,  in  fact,  to  abandon  Nicaea.     He 

25 — 2 
* ^ 


^_- ^ 

388  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  31. 


therefore  withstood  threats   and  persuasions,  and  bravely 
refused  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  Emperor. 

Early  in  355  a  new  council  met  at  Milan,  where 
Dionysius  was  metropolitan.  About  three  hundred  Western 
bishops  were  present ;  of  the  Eastern,  only  a  small  number. 
A  letter  which  spoke  of  Athanasius,  not  as  heretical,  but  as 
sacrilegious,  was  sent  to  Eusebius  of  Vercellge,  to  urge  his 
attendance.  On  reaching  Milan  he  was  excluded  for  ten 
days  from  the  sitting  in  the  cathedral.  When  he  was 
admitted,  the  Arianizers  desired  him  to  sign  a  condemnation 
of  Athanasius.  With  a  diplomatic  subtlety  which  marred 
his  nobleness,  Eusebius  held  out  the  Nicene  Creed,  saying, 
*'  First  let  us  make  sure  of  the  faith.  Sign  this,  and  I  will 
sign  what  you  please."  A  great  agitation  ensued;  the 
people,  who  could  hear  in  the  nave  what  was  passing  in  the 
choir,  began  to  murmur.  The  meeting  was  adjourned  to  the 
palace.  There  Court  influence  was  brough  ■  to  bear  on  the 
bishops.  Constantius  had  written  a  letter  full  of  Arianism, 
which  his  agents  attempted  to  pass  off.  They  were  asked 
to  sign  this  paper  ;  Constantius  skulking  behind  a  curtain, 
overhearing  their  answers. 

"  The  letter  is  rank  Arianism,"  shouted  Lucifer  of  Cag- 
liari ;  "  there  is  no  faith  beside  the  Nicene,  and  all  the 
soldiers  of  the  Emperor  will  not  prevent  me  from  abhorring 
blasphemy." 

"  Insolent  man !"  said  Constantius,  bursting  with  un- 
blushing brow  from  behind  his  screen  ;  "  is  it  your  duty  to 
school  an  Emperor  ?" 

The  presence  and  tones  of  an  Arian  despot  capable  of 
any  barbarity  intimidated  the  majority  of  the  bishops.  They 
yielded,  not  only  to  sign  the  decree  against  Athanasius,  but 
formally  to  profess  union  with  the  Arians. 

Dionysius,  in  a  moment  of  weakness,  yielded  the  first 
point  in  order  to  secure  from  the  opponents  a  corresponding 


*- 


*- 


August  31.] 


kS*.  Eanswitha. 


389 


concession,  which  should  leave  the  faith  undisturbed.  It  is 
said  that  he  repented  of  having  yielded  at  all,  and  that 
Eusebius  "very  ingeniously"  contrived  to  efface  his  signa- 
ture. There  is  no  doubt  that  Eusebius,  Lucifer,  and 
Paulinus  were  steadfast,  and  when  Constantius  answered 
their  appeal  to  the  canons  by  saying,  "  Let  my  will  serve 
you  for  a  canon,"  they  Hfted  up  their  hands,  protes''ng 
against  his  bringing  his  authority  to  bear  on  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  and  reminding  him  of  the  account  he  must  render  at 
the  Day  of  Judgment. 

They  were  instantly  condemned  to  exile.  Dionysius, 
who  now  cast  in  his  lot  with  them,  shared  their  sentence. 
S.  Hilary  was  cruelly  beaten  and  banished.  Maximus  of 
Naples,  thougli  weak  from  illness,  stood  firm,  and  died  in 
exile.  A  pious  bishop,  Rufinianus,  was  compelled  by  a 
young  Arian  prelate,  Epicetus  of  Centumcellse,  to  run  before 
his  chariot,  until  he  died  by  bursting  a  blood-vessel.  Luci- 
fer was  kept  in  a  dark  dungeon  at  Germanicia ;  Eusebius,  at 
Scythopolis.  Paulinus  was  banished  to  Phrygia,  and  died 
in  exile. 

His  body  was  brought  thence  to  Treves,  where  it  received 
honourable  burial,  and  the  church  of  S.  Paulinus,  outside 
the  Porta  Nigra,  was  erected  in  the  ninth  century  in  his 
honour,  and  above  his  remains. 


S.  EANSWITHA,  V.  ABSS. 
(a.d.  640.) 

[Wilson  in  his  Anglican  Martyrology  on  Sept.  12,  but  Wyon,  Menarclus, 
and  the  Bollandists  on  Aug.  31.     Authority  :— The  life  in  Capgrave.] 

Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  who  had  been  converted  to 
Christ  by  the  preaching  of  Augustine,  had  a  son,  Eadbald, 


*- 


-* 


>if- 


390  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  31. 

and  a  daughter,  Ethelburga.  Eadbald  married  Emma, 
daughter  of  Theodebert,  King  of  Austrasia,  and  by  her  had 
two  sons,  Ermenred  and  Ercombert,  and  one  daughter, 
Eanswitha. 

Eadbald  built  a  church  at  Folkestone,  dedicated  to  S.  Peter, 
now  buried  under  the  blue  waters  of  the  encroaching  sea. 
He  sought  to  marry  his  daughter  to  one  of  the  Northum- 
brian princes  who  was  still  a  heathen.  She  obstinately 
refused.  King  Eadbald's  Court  was  visited  by  the  royal 
suitor.  "  I  will  marry  him,"  said  the  wise  virgin,  "  if  by 
prayer  to  his  gods  he  is  enabled  to  lengthen  this  log  a  foot." 
In  vain  did  the  suitor  sue  his  gods,  the  log  maintained  its 
accustomed  length. 

Legends  of  all  kinds  have  accumulated  round  the  name  of 
this  young  and  holy  descendant  of  Hengist  and  of  Clovis. 
The  gaps  in  her  authentic  history  are  filled  by  incidents 
which  show  the  idea  formed  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  the 
supernatural  power  with  which  a  monastic  vocation  invested 
a  daughter  of  the  sovereign  race. 

The  church  of  S.  Peter  at  Folkestone  was  converted  into 
a  convent.  As  soon  as  she  was  installed  there  as  abbess, 
she  made  it,  after  the  fashion  of  all  the  religious  foundations 
of  the  time,  a  great  agricultural  establishment  as  well  as  an 
ascetic  sanctuary  and  a  literary  school.  There,  according 
to  the  popular  tale,  she  tamed  flocks  of  wild  geese  which 
spoiled  her  harvests,  and  which  her  servants  stole  from  her 
poultry-yard,  and  ate,  to  her  great  displeasure.  With  the  top 
of  her  crosier  she  dug  a  canal  to  bring  to  her  monastery  a 
stream  of  fresh  water,  which  was  wanting. 

She  died  young,  in  640. 


ij, ^^ 


»J<- 


August  31.] 


S.  Aidau. 


39  T 


© 


S.  AIDAN,  B.  OF  LINDISFARNE. 
(a.d.  651.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  York  Kalendar,  Bede,  Ado,  Usuardus,  Aberdeen 
Breviary.  Donegal  and  other  Irish  Kalendars.  Authority  : — Bede  in  his 
Eccl.  History  of  England.'] 

When  S.  Oswald  sought  to  convert  his  kingdom  of 
Northumbria  to  Christ,  as  has  been  already  related  in  his 
life,  he  turned  to  lona  for  a  missionary. 

The  Scottish  monks  answered  his  appeal  with  heartiness. 
But  the  first  effect  of  their  zeal  was  not  fortunate.  Their 
first  representative  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  harsh,  un- 
bending disposition,  of  that  tone  of  mind  prone  to  look  on 
the  gloomy  side  of  affairs,  to  rebuke  and  threaten,  and 
meditate  and  preach  on  hell  fire  and  outer  darkness  rather 
than  on  the  love  and  mercy  of  God,  and  on  the  glories  of 
Paradise — a  temper  of  mind  which  was  perhaps  a  national 
characteristic,  to  culminate  eventually  in  stern  Calvinism. 

This  missionary,  by  name  Corman,  attempted  in  vain  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Northumbrians,  who  heard  him 
with  opposition  and  dislike.  After  some  time  he  returned 
to  lona ;  and  in  rendering  an  account  of  his  mission  to  the 
fathers  of  the  monastery,  he  declared  that  he  could  make 
nothing  of  the  Angles,  that  they  were  a  race  of  untamable 
savages,  and  of  a  stubborn  and  barbarous  spirit.  This 
report  greatly  perplexed  the  fathers  of  the  synod,  who 
ardently  desired  to  impart  to  the  English  people  the  gift  of 
salvation  which  had  been  asked  from  them.  They  de- 
liberated for  a  long  time,  until  at  length  one  of  the  assembly, 
Aidan,  a  monk  of  lona,  said  to  the  discomfited  preacher, 
"  It  seems  to  me,  my  brother,  that  you  have  been  too  hard 
on  these  ignorant  people  :  you  have  not,  according  to  the 

'  The  greater  part  of  this  life  is  taken  from  Montalembert's  Monks  of  the  West. 


-* 


^ . 

392  L  ives  of  the  Samts.  jAugust  3u 

apostolic  counsel,  ofifered  them  first  the  milk  of  gentle  doc- 
trine, to  bring  them  by  degrees,  while  nourishing  them  wilh 
the  Divine  Word,  to  the  true  understanding  and  practice  of 
the  more  advanced  precepts." 

At  these  words  every  eye  was  turned  to  Aidan  :  his 
opinion  was  thoughtfully  discussed,  and  the  debate  ended 
in  an  acknowledgment  that  he  was  the  man  wanted  for  the 
mission,  since  he  was  endowed  with  that  discernment  which 
is  the  source  of  all  virtues.  There  was  a  bishop  in  the 
monastery  of  lona,  and  Aidan  received  consecration  from 
his  hands  for  the  work  of  God  in  Northumbria. 

He  received  his  mission  from  the  whole  brotherhood  and 
from  Seghen,  Abbot  of  lona,  the  fourth  successor  of  Columba 
in  the  monastic  metropolis  of  the  Hebrides. 

Aidan  found  that  everything  had  to  be  done,  or  done  over 
again,  in  the  once  Christian  Northumbria.  To  the  south, 
in  Deira,  the  ravages  of  Cadwallon  and  Penda  do  not  seem 
to  have  left  any  traces  of  the  mission  of  Paulinus  except  the 
solitary  church  at  York,  where  the  deacon,  James,  had 
maintained  the  celebration  of  Christian  worship,  and  which, 
begun  by  Edwin,  was  completed  by  Oswald.  In  Bemicia 
the  Roman  bishop,  Paulinus,  had  restricted  himself  to 
itinerating  missions,  followed  by  general  baptism,  but  he  had 
not  founded  there  any  permanent  station,  since,  until  the 
Cross  was  planted  by  Oswald  on  the  eve  of  his  victory  over 
the  Britons,  it  is  said  that  no  one  had  ever  seen  a  church,  or 
an  altar,  or  any  emblem  of  the  Christian  faith. 

It  was  thus  a  hard  task,  and  one  well  wor  thy  of  a  followe 
of  Columba,  which  presented  itself  to  the  monk  of  lona, 
trained  in  the  school  of  that  great  missionary. 

Aidan  had  brought  with  him  several  of  his  brethren,  and 
the  number  of  Celtic  monks  who  came  to  help  him  increased 
from  day  to  day.  It  became  necessary  to  assign  to  them,  or 
rather  to  create  for  them,   a   centre  of  operations.     The 

* ii< 


August  31.1  ^-  ^idan.  393 

King  left  to  Aidan  the  choice  of  the  seat  of  his  bishopric. 
Although  his  diocese  comprised  the  whole  of  Northumbria, 
he  does  not  seem  to  have  thought  of  occupying  the  vacant 
see  of  York.  Whether  he  yielded  in  this  to  the  prejudices 
and  dislikes  which  separated  the  Scots  from  Roman  usages, 
or  whether  he  was  unwilling  to  quit  the  northern  district, 
where  the  mission  of  Paulinus  had  left  the  fewest  traces,  and 
where,  consequently,  he  had  most  work  to  do,  it  is  certain 
that  he  chose  to  place  his  episcopal  monastery  at  a  distance 
from  the  churches  founded  by  the  Roman  monks  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  country. 

He  preferred  a  position  a  little  more  central,  near  the 
royal  residence  of  Oswald,  and  on  the  coast,  but  much 
nearer  the  Firth  of  Forth  than  the  mouth  of  the  Humber, 
which  mark  the  two  extreme  limits  of  Oswald's  kingdom  to 
the  north  and  south. 

This  choice  of  a  residence  shows  that,  as  a  monk  of  lona, 
ambitious  of  following  in  every  respect  the  example  of  the 
great  apostle  of  his  race,  founder  of  the  sanctuary  whence 
he  issued,  S.  Aidan  took  pleasure  in  imitating  S.  Columba 
even  in  local  particulars.  Like  him  he  settled  his  com- 
munity in  an  island  near  the  shore,  almost  as  small,  as 
insignificant,  and  as  barren  as  lona  was  when  the  holy  exile 
from  Ireland  landed  there.  Its  position  was  even,  in  some 
respects,  a  repetition,  in  the  North  Sea  and  to  the  East  of 
Great  Britain,  of  the  position  of  lona  upon  the  opposite 
coast  and  on  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic. 

Amid  the  waves  of  the  North  Sea,  opposite  the  green  hills 
of  Northumberland,  and  the  sandy  beach  which  extends 
between  the  border  town  of  Berwick  on  the  North,  and  the 
imposing  scene  of  the  feudal  fortress  of  Bamborough  on  the 
South,  lies  a  low  island,  flat  and  sombre,  girt  with  basaltic 
rocks,  forming  a  kind  of  square  block,  which  tenninates  to 
the  north-west  in  a  long  point  of  land  stretching  towards  the 

« — ■ 


394  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts.. 

mouth  of  the  Tweed  and  Scotland.  This  island  bears  the 
impress  of  melancholy  and  barrenness.  It  can  never  have 
produced  anything  but  the  sorriest  crops  and  some  meagre 
pasturage.  There  is  not  a  tree,  not  an  undulation,  not  one 
noticeable  feature,  save  a  small  conical  hill  to  the  south- 
west, now  crowned  by  a  strong  castle  of  picturesque  form 
but  recent  construction. 

In  this  poor  islet  was  erected  the  first  Christian  church  of 
the  whole  district,  now  so  populous,  rich,  and  industrious, 
which  extends  from  Hull  to  Edinburgh.  This  was  Lindis- 
farne — that  is  to  say,  the  Mother  Church,  the  religious 
capital  of  the  North  of  England  and  the  South  of  Scotland, 
the  residence  of  the  first  sixteen  bishops  of  Northumbria, 
the  sanctuary  and  monastic  citadel  of  the  whole  country 
round — the  lona  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  resemblance  of 
Lindisfarne  to  lona,  of  the  colony  to  the  metropolis,  the 
daughter  to  the  mother,  is  striking.  These  two  isles,  once 
so  celebrated,  so  renowned,  so  influential  over  two  great 
hostile  races,  have  the  same  sombre  and  melancholy  aspect, 
full  of  a  wild  and  savage  sadness. 

The  island  chosen  by  Aidan  is,  however,  an  island  during 
only  a  portion  of  each  day.  As  at  S.  Michael's  Mount  in 
Cornwall,  twice  in  twenty-four  hours  the  ebbing  tide  leaves 
the  sands  uncovered,  and  the  passage  can  be  made  on  foot 
to  the  neighbouring  shore,  thougli  not  always  without 
danger,  for  many  stories  are  told  of  travellers  drowned  in 
attempting  to  cross  to  the  holy  isle  at  low  water. 

From  this  new  abode  Aidan,  looking  southward,  could 
descry  far  off  the  rock  and  stronghold  of  Bamborough,  where 
Oswald,  after  the  example  of  his  grandfather  Ida,  had 
established  his  capital.  His  eye,  like  his  heart,  could  there 
hail  the  young  and  glorious  prince  who  was  his  friend,  his 
helper,  and  his  rival. 

Nothing  is  told  us  by  Bede  of  the  early  history  of  S.  Aidan. 

* * 


<f — — qt 

August  3..1  '^^  ^^'^^^-  395 

But  the  Irish  Kalendars  state  that  he  was  the  son  of  Lugair, 
of  the  race  of  Eochaidh  Finn  Fuath-nairt,  from  whom  S. 
Bridgit  was  descended.  They  state  that  he  was  bishop  first 
at  Inis  Cathaigh  (Scattery  Isle,  County  Clare),  but  this  is 
certainly  a  mistake.  He  may  have  resided  there  as  a 
cenobite,  but  not  as  a  bishop,  before  entering  the  com- 
munity of  lona.  When  he  first  appears  to  us  he  is  already 
a  monk  at  lona,  and  clothed  with  a  certain  authority  among 
his  brethren.  Even  when  raised  to  the  episcopate,  he 
remained  always  a  monk,  not  only  in  heart,  but  in  life. 
Almost  all  his  Celtic  fellow-workers,  whether  from  Ireland 
or  Scotland,  were  monks  like  himself,  and  followed  the 
cenobitical  rule  of  their  order  and  country.  A  hundred 
years  after  Aidan,  the  system  which  he  had  established  at 
Lindisfarne  was  still  in  full  vigour ;  and,  as  in  his  day,  the 
bishop  himself  was  either  himself  the  abbot  of  the  insular 
community,  or  lived  there  as  a  monk,  subject,  like  the 
other  religious,  to  the  authority  of  the  abbot,  elected  with 
the  consent  of  the  brotherhood.  The  priests,  deacons, 
choristers,  and  other  officials  of  the  cathedral,  were  all 
monks.  But  this  monastic  discipline  and  order  would  have 
availed  little  if  the  missionary-head  of  the  institution  had  not 
possessed  the  character  common  to  great  servants  of  the 
truth,  and  been  endowed  with  those  virtues  which  the 
apostolic  office  demands. 

Bede,  who  was  born  twenty  years  after  the  death  of  the 
monk-bishop,  and  who  lived  all  his  life  in  the  country  which 
was  fragrant  with  the  memory  of  Aidan's  virtues,  has  made 
his  character  and  life  the  subject  of  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
and  attractive  pictures  ever  drawn  by  the  pen  of  the  venerable 
historian.  The  praise  which  he  awards  to  him  is  not  only 
more  expressive  and  more  distinct  than  that  given  to  any 
other  monastic  apostle  of  England,  but  also  so  much  the 
less  to  be  suspected  of  partiality,  that  it  is  qualified  by  most 


t^. ij, 

396  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts,. 


energetic  protests  against  the  Celtic  Church  and  its  apostles 
for  their  fidelity  to  Celtic  observances  as  to  the  celebration 
of  Easter,  which  the  clergy  of  the  South  of  Ireland  had 
abandoned  out  of  deference  to  the  Roman  usage,  but  which 
the  Scots  of  the  North  of  Ireland  and  of  all  Caledonia 
obstinately  preserved  as  they  had  received  them  from  their 
fathers. 

"  Aidan  was,"  Bede  tells  us,  "a  pontiff  inspired  with  a  pas- 
sionate love  of  goodness ;  but  at  the  same  time  full  of  a 
surpassing  gentleness  and  moderation." 

Faithful  to  all  the  noble  teachings  of  his  monastic  cradle, 
he  appeared  to  the  future  clergy  of  Northumbria  as  a  marvel 
of  self-denial  and  austerity.  He  was  the  first  to  practise 
what  he  taught,  and  none  could  ever  reproach  him  with 
having  failed  to  fulfil,  to  his  best  ability,  all  the  precepts  of 
the  Gospels,  of  the  apostles,  and  the  prophets. 

Indifferent  to  all  worldly  possessions,  Aidan  expended  in 
alms  all  that  he  received  from  the  kings  and  rich  men.  To 
the  astonishment  of  the  Saxons,  who,  like  modern  English- 
men, were  excellent  horsemen,  and  valued  nothing  more 
highly  than  the  horse,  it  was  always  on  foot  that  the  bishop 
went  through  town  and  country,  penetrating  everywhere — 
now  among  the  rich,  now  among  the  poor — baptizing  those 
who  were  still  heathen,  confirming  in  the  faith  those  who 
were  already  Christians,  and  stimulating  all  to  alms-giving 
and  good  works.  Ail  who  accompanied  him,  monks  or 
laymen,  had  to  devote  a  certain  portion  of  each  day  to  medi- 
tation— that  is  to  say,  to  reading  the  Bible  and  learning  the 
Psalter.  Unwearied  in  study,  humble  and  peaceful,  chari- 
table and  sincere,  he  was  especially  distinguished  by  zeal 
against  the  sins  of  the  rich.  Far  from  sparing  any  of  their 
vices  or  excesses,  he  rebuked  them  with  the  greatest  sharp- 
ness ;  and  contrary  to  the  received  custom,  he  never  made 
any  present  to  the  chiefs  or  nobles,  restricting  himself  to 


*_ ^ ^ 

August  31.]  ^-  A^^(^^-  397 

simple  hospitality  when  they  came  to  visit  him,  and  giving 
away  to  the  necessitous  the  gifts  they  heaped  upon  him. 
But  the  priestly  courage  which  armed  him  against  the  pride 
of  the  powerful  was  transformed  into  a  wonderful  tender- 
ness and  watchful  solicitude  when  he  had  to  defend  the 
feeble,  to  relieve  the  needy,  or  to  comfort  the  unfortunate. 
His,  in  a  word,  was  the  heart  of  a  true  priest  and  apostle, 
disdainful  alike  of  false  grandeur  and  vain  prosperity,  and 
victorious  over  all  the  mean  and  perverse  tendencies  of  his 
time,  of  all  times. 

Aidan  retained  nothing  for  himself  of  all  the  gifts  of  land 
which  the  generosity  of  the  Saxon  kings  and  nobles  bestowed 
upon  the  Church,  whose  doctrines  they  had  just  embraced. 
He  was  content  with  Lindisfarne  and  the  scanty  fields  of  his 
poor  little  isle.  But  he  reserved  for  himself,  wherever  it  was 
possible,  a  site  for  a  chapel,  with  a  small  chamber  attached, 
where  he  prepared  his  sermons,  and  in  which  he  lodged 
during  his  incessant  and  prolonged  journeys. 

Like  S.  Gregory  the  Great,  whom,  though  not  his  disciple, 
he  emulated  in  well-doing,  he  took  an  especial  interest  in 
the  education  of  children  and  the  emancipation  of  slaves. 
From  the  beginning  of  his  mission  he  attached  to  himself 
twelve  English  youths,  whom  he  educated  with  the  greatest 
care  for  the  service  of  Christ,  and  of  whom  at  least  one  be- 
came a  bishop.  Every  church  and  monastery  founded  by 
him  became  immediately  a  school  where  the  children  of  the 
English  received  from  Aidan's  monks  an  education  as  com- 
plete as  that  to  be  had  in  any  of  the  great  Irish  monasteries. 
As  to  slaves,  he  devoted  principally  to  their  redemption  the 
gifts  which  he  owed  to  the  munificence  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
endeavouring  especially  to  save  such  as,  to  use  Bede's  ex- 
pression, had  been  "  unjustly  sold " — which  means,  pro- 
bably, those  who  were  not  foreign  prisoners,  or  who  had  not 
been  condemned   to  slavery  as  a  punishment  for  crime. 


-* 


398  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [Augusts,. 

For  the  Saxons,  as  well  as  the  Celts,  made  no  scruple  of 
selling  their  brethren  and  children  like  cattle.  The  freed- 
men  were  carefully  instructed  by  Aidan,  numbered  among 
his  disciples,  and  frequently  raised  to  the  priesthood. 
Heathen  barbarism  was  thus  assailed  and  undermined  in  its 
very  citadel  by  monks,  both  from  the  north  and  from  the 
south,  and  by  slaves  promoted  to  the  rank  of  priests. 

An  account  of  the  united  labours  of  S.  Oswald  and  S. 
Aidan  has  been  already  given  in  this  volume,  and  to  it  the 
reader  is  referred.* 

The  battle  of  Maserfield  closed  the  life  and  good  work  of 
the  blessed  Oswald,  one  of  the  noblest,  purest,  and  most 
earnest  kings  known  to  history. 

Oswin  claimed  and  seized  on  the  throne  of  Deira,  and 
Aidan  was  as  much  beloved  and  respected  by  this  young 
prince  as  he  had  been  by  Oswald.  The  touching  story  of 
their  intimacy  and  of  the  early  death  of  Oswin  has  already 
found  its  place  in  this  volume.''  The  fierce  Penda,  at  the 
lieadof  his  Mercians  and  the  Britons,  for  thirteenyears  ravaged 
Northumbria;  but  he  seems  to  have  entertained  less  unfriendly 
feelings  towards  his  neighbours  the  Deirians  and  their  king 
than  to  the  Bernicians,  and  Oswy,  the  brother  of  Oswald,  his 
last  victim.  It  is  in  the  north  of  the  two  kingdoms  that  we 
find  him  carrying  everywhere  fire  and  sword,  and  attempt- 
ing to  give  to  the  flames  the  royal  fortress  of  Bamborough. 
There  also  we  find  Aidan,  the  benefactor  and  protector  of 
the  country.  Penda,  not  having  been  able  to  reduce  the 
fortress  either  by  assault  or  by  investment,  caused  an  enor- 
mous pile  to  be  erected  all  round  the  rampart.  He  heaped 
on  it  all  the  wood  of  the  surrounding  forests,  the  drift  wood 
from  the  beach,  the  beams,  and  even  the  thatch  of  the  cot- 
tages in  all  the  neighbouring  villages  which  he  had  destroyed ; 
then,  as  soon  as  the  wind  blew  from  the  West,  he  set  fire  to 

>  Aug.  5,  p.  7a  *  Aug.  20,  p.  192. 


-* 


August  31.] 


•5".  Aidan.  399 


the   mass,  with   the  hope  of  seeing  the  flames  reach  the 
town. 

Aidan  was  at  this  time  in  the  islet  of  Fame,  an  isolated 
rock  in  the  open  sea,  a  little  to  the  south  of  Lindisfarne,  and 
nearly  opposite  Bamborough,  to  which  he  often  went,  quit- 
ting his  episcopal  monastery  to  devote  himself  in  solitude 
and  silence  to  prayer.  While  he  prayed  he  saw  a  cloud  of 
black  smoke  and  jets  of  flame  covering  the  sky  above  the 
town  where  once  his  dear  Oswald  had  dwelt.  Lifting  his 
eyes  and  hands  to  heaven,  he  cried  with  tears,  "  My  God, 
behold  all  the  evils  that  Penda  does  us  !"  At  the  same 
moment  the  wind  changed,  the  flames  whirled  upon  the  be- 
siegers, destroying  many  of  them,  and  they  speedily  aban- 
doned the  siege  of  a  place  so  evidently  under  Divine  pro- 
tection. 

As  if  this  formidable  and  pitiless  enemy  was  not  enough 
to  desolate  Northumbria,  Oswy,  moved  by  jealousy,  made 
war  against  Oswin,  King  of  the  Deirians.  Thus  Northum- 
berland was  a  prey  to  internecine  war  as  well  as  desolation 
from  the  invasions  of  the  ruthless  Penda. 

Oswin  was  defeated  and  put  to  death ;  and  twelve  days 
after\vards  the  glorious  Bishop  Aidan  followed  the  king  he 
loved  to  the  tomb.  He  fell  sick  during  one  of  his  innume- 
rable missionary  expeditions,  and  died  under  a  tent  which 
had  been  pitched  in  haste  to  shelter  him  at  the  back  of  a 
modest  church  he  had  just  built.  He  expired  with  his  head 
resting  against  one  of  the  buttresses  of  the  church.  It  was 
a  death  which  became  a  soldier  of  the  faith  upon  his  own  6t 
field  of  battle. 

The  body  of  Aidan  was  laid  in  his  monastic  cathedral 
of  Lindisfarne. 

To  Aidan  far  rather  than  to  Augustine  may  England, 
certainly  all  the  North,  look  as  to  her  apostle. 


ij, — ^ 


* 1^ 

400  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  31 


S.  CUTHBURGA,  Q.  ABSS. 

(ABOUT   A.D.    725.; 

[Anglican  Martyrologies,  Sarum  and  York  Kalendars,  Roman  Martyr- 
ology.  Authority  : — The  life  in  Capgrave,  the  main  facts  in  which  are 
alone  to  be  relied  on  ;  mention  by  Henry  of  Huntingdon  and  William  oi 
Malmesbury,  &c.] 

S.  CuTHBURGA  and  her  sister  S.  Cyneburga  were  the 
daughters  of  Kenred,  King  of  Wessex.  The  legislator  Ina, 
whose  life  has  already  been  given,  was  their  brother. 

The  fame  of  the  beauty  and  virtue  of  Cuthburga  having 
reached  Aldfrid,  King  of  Northumbria,  he  sent  to  Ina  to  ask 
his  sister  in  marriage.  Like  her  sister-in-law,  Etheldred, 
she  desired  in  the  lifetime  of  her  husband  to  give  up  con- 
jugal life  and  her  royal  state  to  consecrate  herself  to  God  in 
the  cloister.  Less  tender  or  less  violent  than  his  brother 
Egfrid,  King  Aldfrid  consented  to  the  separation,  and  Cuth- 
burga took  the  veil  in  the  monastery  of  Barking,  on  the 
Thames,  in  the  kingdom  of  the  East  Angles. 

She  remained  there  only  a  few  years.  Her  brother  Ina 
desired  her  to  become  superior  of  a  great  foundation  belong- 
ing to  their  race  and  country.  He  established  her  at  Win- 
bourne,  in  a  very  fertile  country,  which  Rodolf,  the  biographer 
of  S.  Lioba  who  issued  from  it,  is  pleased  to  derive  from 
Wine-born,  the  fountain  of  wine.  The  derivation  is  fanciful, 
but  expresses  the  richness  of  the  site.  The  Queen  of  Nor- 
thumbria, when  she  became  abbess  of  the  new  community, 
carried  with  her  the  spirit  and  habits  of  her  first  monastic 
dwelUng-place,  and  Winbourne  soon  became  still  more 
celebrated  than  Barking  for  the  development  of  its  literary 
studies. 


Aug.,p.  400.] 


S.   RAYMUXD   NONNATUS.      After  Cahier. 


[Aug.  31. 


*- 


August  31.1 


S.  Raymund  Nonnatus. 


401 


-* 


S.  RAYMUND  NONNATUS,  CARD. 
(about  a.d.  1240.) 

[Roman  Martyrology.  S.  Raymund  is  thought  to  have  been  canonized  by 
the  Anti-Pope  Benedict  XIII.  The  recitation  of  an  office  and  mass  in  his 
honour  on  his  festival  was  sanctioned  by  Urban  VIII.  and  Alexander  VII., 
under  the  latter  of  whom  liis  name  was  inserted  in  the  Roman  Martyrology. 
Authority  :— A  life  by  Ciconius  in  his  Vitae  et  res  gestae  Pont.  Romanorum 
et  S.  R.  E.  Cardinalium,  t.  ii.  col.  90.] 

As  no  contemporary  life  of  this  Saint  exists,  as  indeed 
some  three  or  four  hundred  years  elapsed  before  his  legend 
was  committed  to  writing,  ample  time  had  been  given  for 
the  popular  fancy  and  the  zeal  of  his  religious  Order  to 
transform  the  sober  facts  of  his  history  into  a  fantastic 
romance.  It  is  difficult — it  is  indeed  impossible  to  say 
what  truth  there  is  in  the  story  as  it  is  given  us  by  writers 
of  the  17th  century,  whether  they  had  any  authentic  records 
on  which  to  frame  their  biography,  or  whether  it  is  only 
the  crush  of  the  rich  fruit  of  the  Catalonian  imagination. 

There  lived  in  the  diocese  of  Urgel  in  Catalonia  a 
reduced  nobleman  of  the  family  of  the  Counts  of  Cerdagne, 
named  Sarroi.  His  wife  died  when  she  was  expecting  her 
confinement.  She  was  about  to  be  buried.  Her  husband 
refused  to  allow  the  ceremony  to  proceed  till  he  was  sure 
that  the  child  in  her  womb  was  dead  also.  A  friend  with 
his  dagger  cut  open  her  side,  and  extracted  a  living,  beau- 
tiful babe.  It  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  Raymund,  and 
was  called  Nonnatus,  or  the  "  Unborn." 

The  child  grew  up  with  an  ardent  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  whom  he  adopted  as  his  mother,  having 
lost  her  who  had  borne  him  seven  months  in  her  womb, 
but  had  never  given  birth. 

He  was  employed  as    a    shepherd.     (The   story   is  not 

VOL.  IX.  36 


*- 


-* 


*- 


402  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  31. 

very  consistent — we  should  not  look  to  see  a  nobleman's 
son  tending  sheep.)  He  found  a  cave  in  which  was  an 
image  of  S.  Mary,  and  retired  into  it  frequently  to  pray. 
The  shepherds  complained  to  his  father  that  Raymund 
neglected  the  sheep.  The  father  came  to  see,  and  lo  ! 
there  stood  a  youth  of  angelic  countenance  in  the  midst  of 
the  flock,  in  glittering  raiment,  with  a  shining  staff  like  a 
sunbeam,  guiding  the  sheep  to  green  pastures,  warding  off 
danger.  Whilst  Raymund  prayed  in  the  grotto  an  angel 
watched  his  flock. 

One  day  the  devil  in  the  form  of  a  shepherd  visited 
the  youthful  Raymund  in  the  cave,  and  remonstrated  with 
him.  He  was  not  born  to  tend  sheep,  to  do  menial 
work.  Let  him  go  into  military  service  like  his  ancestors. 
Raymund,  feeling  this  to  be  a  temptation,  cried  to  Mary  to 
save  him.  No  sooner  had  he  pronounced  her  name  than 
the  shepherd  vanished  in  a  puff  of  smoke  and  a  most  in- 
tolerable smell. 

Raymund  went  to  Barcelona  and  joined  the  Order  of 
Mercy  for  the  redemption  of  captives,  and  received  the 
habit  from  the  hands  of  S.  Peter  Nolasco. 

He  was  sent  into  Africa  with  money  to  buy  back  slaves 
taken  by  pirates,  and  then  in  captivity  in  Algiers.  He 
found  the  sum  confided  to  him  insufficient  to  liberate  all. 
He  therefore  gave  himself  up  in  exchange  for  one  more 
captive,  when  he  had  exhausted  the  fund  at  his  disposal. 

As  a  slave  he  laboured  at  the  hardest  tasks,  and  was 
cruelly  bastinadoed.  He  spoke  to  his  fellow  captives, 
consoled  them  in  their  affliction,  prevented  the  wavering 
from  renouncing  their  faith,  and  was  so  zealous  in  his  pro- 
clamation of  the  faith,  that  his  masters  put  a  padlock  througii 
his  lips,  the  key  of  which  was  kept  by  the  Cadi,  and  it  was 
only  unlocked  to  allow  him  to  eat. 

One  day  he  was  found  in  the  moat  of  Algiers,  on  which  he 


*- 


-* 


August  31 J  •^-  Raymund  Nonnatus.  403 

was  employed,  in  an  ecstacy,  pointing  with  his  hand  to  the 
words  of  the  io8th  Psalm,  "  Take  not  the  word  of  thy 
truth  utterly  out  of  my  mouth,"  in  his  Psalter.  The  Moors 
shook  him,  and  tried  to  restore  him  to  consciousness.  Then, 
slowly  coming  to  himself,  he  said,  padlocked  though  his 
lips  were,  "  Thy  Word,  O  Lord,  endureth  for  ever." 

Pope  Gregory  IX.  heard  of  his  captivity  and  sufferings. 
Money  was  sent  for  his  release,  and  his  heroic  confessor- 
ship  was  rewarded  with  a  cardinal's  hat.  But  Raymund, 
indifferent  to  the  honours  accorded  him,  returned  to  his 
convent  at  Barcelona.  There  he  had  a  notable  vision. 
The  Blessed  Virgin  appeared  to  him  in  dazzling  light, 
bearing  a  crown  of  flowers  which  she  sought  to  place  on  his 
brow.  He  refused  to  submit  his  head  to  the  honour ;  then 
Our  Lord  appeared,  and  laid  on  his  temples  the  crown  of 
thorns. 

He  was  ordered  to  Rome  by  Gregory  IX.,  curious  to  see 
the  Saint,  but  fell  ill  on  his  way  thither,  at  the  castle  of  tlie 
Count  of  Cerdagne,  two  days'  journey  from  Barcelona, 
Death  approached.  The  priest  of  the  parish  was  absent. 
Raymund  feared  lest  he  should  die  without  the  Sacra- 
ments. 

Suddenly  the  door  of  the  chamber  flew  open,  and  in  swept 
a  mysterious  procession  of  unknown  men,  in  white  robes, 
the  habit  of  the  Fathers  of  Mercy,  but  white  and  shining  as 
no  fuller  on  earth  could  whiten  them.  Each  bore  a  burning 
taper  in  his  hand,  and  all  chanted  in  solemn  tones  the  "  De 
profundis."  After  these  forms  had  passed  in  and  ranged 
themselves  in  an  avenue  from  the  bed  to  the  door,  there 
entered  One  in  sacrificial  vestments,  crowned  with  thorns, 
and  with  wounds  in  his  hands  and  feet.  From  beneath  his 
chasuble  on  the  right  side  welled  out  red  blood,  which  flowed 
down  his  shining  alb.  There  was  a  great  light,  and  a  fume 
of  rising  incense,  and  a  bell  ringing,  sweet  and  clear.  And  in 

*- ■ >i« 


-<^ 


404  ^  Lives  of  the  Saints.  [August  31, 

the  blaze,  and  fragrance  and  chanting  and  peaUng  of  the 
silver  bell,  the  dying  man  was  communicated. 

As  mysteriously  as  the  procession  had  entered  so  did  it 
depart.  The  door  closed.  The  Count  of  Cerdagne  and 
those  present  rushed  to  the  window,  and  saw  the  awful 
procession  pass  the  river  at  the  foot  of  the  castle,  dry 
shod,  and  then  disappear. 

Then  those  who  had  seen  this  marvellous  sight  turned  to 
the  bed — Raymund  was  no  more. 

The  body  of  the  Saint  is  shown  at  the  Hermitage  of 
S.  Nicolas  at  Portel  in  Catalonia. 

In  art  he  is  represented  with  padlocked  mouth,  in  the 
habit  of  his  Order,  sometimes  crowned  with  thorns. 


END  OF  VOL.  OL 


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